Sonic's Shadow
by Zeldafreak-Vikki
Summary: You thought I was dead, didn't you? Well, I'm still alive! And Part 3 has finally begun! Part 3: After five years, you'd think they'd have grown up a little!(You like? R&R for more chapters!)
1. Part 1 Prologue

**Disclaimer: Sonic The Hedgehog and all related characters are copyright to SEGA. Lemon the Echidna, Tenchi the Hedgehog and all related characters that don't belong to SEGA belong to me, Zeldafreak-Vikki and my friend, Alyssa the Bat!  
  
This fic is gonna turn out pretty long if things go my way. So I'm splitting it into Parts. Enjoy Part 1!  
  
PART ONE  
  
PROLOGUE**  
  
"CHAOS CONTROL!!"  
  
Super Sonic and Super Shadow both separated as the power burst from their outstretched hands and surrounded the ARK. It would teleport in less than a minute. Super Sonic jumped onto a secure part of the outside of the ARK and spotted Super Shadow, struggling to get to him. But he was running out of rings fast and his fur was flickering from platinum to black. Super Sonic jumped onto the railing in front of him and, making sure his feet were hooked so that he wouldn't go flying himself, leaned forward into Space and held out his hands.  
  
"Shadow!" he yelled over the noise of the Chaos Control washing over parts of the ARK. "Hurry!! It's gonna disappear!" Shadow looked up, fear and desperation displayed in his blood-red eyes. He clenched his teeth as he managed to stretch one of his hands out. Sonic grabbed ahold of it and started to pull him in. Then both yelled as slashes of power swished around them, like a strong wind neither had experienced before. The Chaos Control was almost complete and would suck the ARK in any second!  
  
Shadow analyzed the situation and then looked to Sonic intensely. Sonic stared back and everything seemed to stop. There were no more crashing noises. It was just Sonic, Shadow and their beating hearts. Shadow's rung in his ears as he pulled himself up close to Sonic.  
  
"Let go... it's too late..." Not waiting for an answer, Shadow roughly pulled himself free of Sonic's grasp. The golden ring around his wrist was left in Sonic's hands as he screamed his new friend's name. Shadow watched as the ARK disappeared. The wave of power that followed was devastating. It took out all the satellites and floating rocks that were nearby. Shadow screamed as it hit him, sending him hurtling towards Earth's atmosphere. He watched with wide eyes, teeth clenched, a terrible pressure clutching his chest as a horrific thought struck his numb brain.  
  
_I'm going to die...  
_  
Earth was coming up pretty quickly. He shut his eyes and tried to prepare himself for what lay ahead.  
  
_Maria..._ He opened his eyes halfway, tears threatening to fall. _This is what you wanted, right? This is my promise I made to you..._ He shut his eyes again as a sob escaped him. Then all of his senses seemed to shut down as he hit the atmosphere.  
  
At first, he felt nothing. All he could see was red. He was numbly aware that he was being burnt but he just reminded himself it would all be over in a hurry. He'd be with her soon.  
  
Sonic groaned as his fur turned from gold back to blue. He collapsed against the wall and slowly sunk to the floor, panting from fatigue and sorrow. Sweat mixed with tears as both ran down his face. The floor rumbled as the ARK reappeared peacefully above Earth. Sonic should've been happy in that moment of triumph but instead, he felt empty. He held the golden ring in his hands, which shook as he forced himself not to cry. He lowered his head, still fighting the urge to scream.  
  
He had been too late. He could've saved Shadow. But he had been too slow. Why did Shadow have to be so stubborn and not get back to the colony when he'd told him to? His thoughts were still battling when he entered the abandoned lab, where all of his friends were waiting. Rouge was closest to him, and a look of foreboding was in her eyes.  
  
"Where is Shadow?"  
  
Sonic looked down and shook his head in answer. He walked up to Rouge as she stood watching him, shocked, and handed her the golden ring. He decided it was better off with Rouge, as she had known him best. They had a very brief talk about Shadow and then Sonic separated from the others as they waited for the ARK to be in range for them to be beamed back to Earth.  
  
He never spoke about it to anyone after that. 


	2. Chapter One Tenchi

**Disclaimer: Sonic The Hedgehog and all related characters are copyright to SEGA. Lemon the Echidna, Tenchi the Hedgehog and all related characters that don't belong to SEGA belong to me, Zeldafreak-Vikki and my friend, Alyssa the Bat!  
  
CHAPTER ONE - TENCHI**  
  
Lemon the Echidna yawned. It was late in the evening and the hospital was rather quiet. Nothing exciting had happened for awhile, ever since her and Rouge the Bat had started working there. Rouge had quit her job as a spy and thief and now worked as a sort of extension of the hospital. When they got too crowded, they'd send patients to Rouge's infirmary, which was in the outskirts of the Capital City and far from any harm. Also, it worked as a rehab centre for any patient who needed a place to heal for a long time or for any other reason. Rouge had been trained as a nurse and was up to the task, along with Knuckles' sister, Lemon.  
  
Lemon came as a sort of surprise to everyone. Knuckles had never told the others about his sister, who was only a year younger than him. She was a pretty echidna, with a yellow head and a red body. She usually wore pretty normal clothes except for when she was at the hospital, then she wore the usual nurse outfit.  
  
She looked over to where Rouge was going through some paperwork and looked away, bored out of her mind. Then she heard the bat gasp and a clanging noise as something hit the desk. She hurried over, half-hoping it was something serious. "What's the matter, Rouge?!" she exclaimed.  
  
Rouge was staring to where a golden ring had hit the desktop, probably fallen from a shelf. Rouge picked it up and in one quick movement, hugged it close, tears appearing. Lemon came next to her, concerned. "What's the matter, Rouge?" she repeated, a little louder.  
  
Rouge looked to her and sniffed, blushing. "I'm sorry, I'm being silly." She chuckled sadly and held the ring out to Lemon to see. "This is all that's left... of that hedgehog from ARK. Did Knuckles tell you about him?" Lemon nodded. She had heard that only a few weeks before, they had lost a friend on the space colony ARK. She had asked Sonic about it but the blue hedgehog had simply turned away, grief obviously eating at him. Knuckles seemed rather upset as well, since it upset Rouge, so Lemon never really got interested and soon forgot the hedgehog's name.  
  
Oh well.  
  
"Rouge!" Both girls jumped as the doctor appeared in the doorway. He was an elderly fox with glasses perched on the end of his snout and he looked positively baffled. "Rouge, some men just brought in a patient. We cannot identify him. Could you come?" Rouge nodded and her and Lemon followed the doctor all the way to Emergency, where a group of fishermen were against the wall, watching anxiously as a nurse was checking over a heart rate machine and an IV. When she saw the doctor and Rouge (Lemon had stayed back), she hurried to them. She sounded relieved.  
  
"Doctor, she said. "We managed to get him breathing again but he still won't wake up. And we couldn't find anyone by his description in our records." The doctor sighed and nodded. "Well, once he wakes up, he'll tell us. For now, we'll see if Rouge knows him." Rouge stepped up to beside the bed and stared, bewildered.  
  
It was a hedgehog. His thin torso, his right arm and several parts of both arms were covered in bandages. Rouge recognized them to be burns. A breathing mask had been placed over his mouth and nose and his eyes were covered with a protective bandage. She feared the worst for his sight. His fur was white, from what she could tell, although some of it had been stained red and most of it has been singed off, hence a blanket was pulled up to his torso. This also served to keep him warm, as he seemed ill as well. Rouge lightly touched his forehead and felt her heart jump. It was on fire!  
  
She decided to look past the damage. From what she could tell, this hedgehog was quite handsome. She leaned closer, as if drawn to him and placed a hand on his chest, which was moving up and down weakly as he breathed uneasily. There was a tuft of white fur there. Some of it had been singed but only around the edges. Rouge ran her hand gently past it, feeling how soft it was. It seemed so familiar...  
  
"Well?" asked the doctor. Rouge looked up. "Well, I don't really recognize him..."  
  
The doctor frowned. "Oh well, we'll just wait for him to wake up." He turned to Lemon. "Would you mind staying by him in case he wakes up?" Lemon nodded, a little nervous at being in charge of someone in such a serious state. Rouge smiled. "I'll stay too."  
  
And so they stayed there, Lemon by the strange hedgehog's side while Rouge walked around, taking to other nurses and helping them out. The fishermen who had brought the hedgehog in explained to Lemon that they had found him floating in the middle of the ocean, which was why he was so sick. After that, they left, leaving their numbers so that they would be notified when the hedgehog woke up.  
  
It was almost morning when the echidna girl spotted the first signs of movement from him. She was just about ready to doze off when she noticed his hand moving slowly. She watched in amazement as the hedgehog began to stir uneasily. Then he reached up slowly with both hands to feel his eyes. Lemon took his hands in hers, and seeing that she had startled him, tried to sound as soothing as possible.  
  
"Don't worry; I'm a friend." she said. "You've been hurt pretty badly and your eyes need a chance to heal so please try not to touch the bandages, ok?"  
  
The hedgehog slowly nodded. He lowered his hands and groaned, in obvious pain. Lemon held the hand nearest to her and squeezed it gently, hoping it comforted him at all. He responded by squeezing hers in return, even though it was very weak and shaky. Lemon slowly smiled and leaned in closer to him, whispering to keep him calm.  
  
"What's your name?" she asked.  
  
The hedgehog opened his mouth to answer and froze. His brow furrowed as he thought hard, searching his brain for his own name. He then seemed deeply confused. His voice was shockingly low and calm, even though weak and fuzzy from the breathing mask.  
  
"I-I don't know."  
  
Lemon started at that. She had been hoping she would finally learn who this hedgehog was. He had obviously been through a terrible ordeal and it had left him with Amnesia. She sighed. "I'll be right back." She got up from her seat and went to where Rouge had fallen asleep at a desk after chatting on the phone with Knuckles. Lemon gently shook her awake.  
  
"Hey, bat-girl," murmured Lemon. "He's awake."  
  
Rouge looked up with her sleepy eyes and sniffed. "Well?" she croaked. "Who is he?"  
  
Lemon looked very disappointed. "He doesn't know. I think he's got Amnesia."  
  
Rouge stared. "Dang." she said. "Alright, I'll take a look at him. Thanks for doing that, Lemon."  
  
Lemon shook her head. "It was nothing."  
  
While Rouge was examining the hedgehog and talking to him, Lemon had the task of calling up those fishermen. While she was contacting them, the doctor happened to be watching her. He walked over to Rouge.  
  
"I think Lemon's actually interested in this one." he said.  
  
Rouge looked over and grinned. "I think so too." She chuckled. "Maybe we should assign her to looking after him. I'll definitely have to take him in at the infirmary, he won't be going anywhere anytime soon." And so they asked.  
  
Lemon agreed.  
  
While Lemon was off doing other work, Rouge questioned the hedgehog after removing the breathing mask.  
  
"Do you remember anything?" she asked, having gotten nothing else out of him.  
  
The hedgehog sighed. "I-I only remember... a name..."  
  
"Is it yours?" asked Rouge, hoping she was close to something.  
  
"...No..."  
  
Rouge growled. "Well, what's the name?"  
  
"..Arashi." replied the hedgehog, looking as puzzled as Rouge did. She told him to get some rest and left, feeling very hot in the face from frustration.  
  
Awhile later, the fishermen came. There were five of them in total, four men and one girl. The girl came as a shock to Lemon. She was a two- tailed fox, just like Miles "Tails" Prower himself! But she was light blue and quite delicate compared to him. Beside her was a very tall and muscular wolf. Following them were a light grey dog, a purple weasel and a very old cheetah. They all walked in, very quiet. The weasel was holding his weather-beaten hat, his chewed up ears lowered. Lemon walked up to them.  
  
"So, you guys found him?"  
  
The wolf stepped forward. "Yes, ma'am. How is he?" They all looked anxiously towards where the hedgehog was lying quite still.  
  
Lemon sighed. "He's pretty bad but the doctor thinks he's going to make it. There's nothing too fatal except he's very sick. You say you found him in the water?"  
  
The old cheetah stepped forward. "Yes, I saw him fall from the sky and hit the water. He fell just as the lightning began to strike."  
  
Lemon stared. "H-He fell from the sky?!" She looked around at them all. "Are you sure?!"  
  
"That is what I saw," confirmed the old man. "I'm not as blind as these young fools."  
  
Lemon blinked. How could a hedgehog fall from the sky? The fishermen followed her at a distance as she walked back to beside the hedgehog. She made sure her voice was calm.  
  
"Hey." She waited until his face was looking in her general direction. "The men who saved you are here to see you."  
  
The hedgehog stirred a bit. The wolf sat down next to Lemon.  
  
"Hey, glad to see you're alive, buddy." He grinned as the hedgehog looked confused. "My name is Tank, we all found you and brought you here."  
  
The hedgehog relaxed. "You called me Tenchi... I remember..."  
  
Tank chuckled. "Oh yeah." He turned to Lemon, who looked puzzled and explained. "Since he fell from the sky, we decided to call him Tenchi. I didn't think he heard us, he was out the whole time."  
  
"Oh, I heard you..." replied the hedgehog. Lemon was surprised by how clear his voice was, even though it was slightly pained.  
  
Tank grinned. "Well, call us when you move him. We'd like to help out..."  
  
"Oh, sure!" Lemon nodded. "Here's the address." She handed him a business card for the infirmary. "And thank-you." She watched as they left and then looked back to the hedgehog. "Wow, you sure made some nice friends."  
  
The hedgehog was silent.  
  
It was a few weeks later, Tenchi's first and second degree burns had healed. They had grafted his skin for the few third-degree burns he had. But he was still very ill. He was too sick to eat anything and the IV only made him weaker and weaker. And his legs were too weak for him to stand. But the wounds were healing fine and Lemon was happy to see he had grown a little healthier from that. His fur had grown back and a little bit of colour had returned to his skin.  
  
But it hadn't been so good for his eyes.  
  
Lemon watched nervously as Rouge sat next to Tenchi's bed, pulling gloves over her hands.  
  
"Are you ready?" she asked. She sounded as nervous as Lemon!  
  
But Tenchi's voice was worse than the two girls combined. "Y-Yes..." He gulped and braced himself.  
  
Rouge gently reached over his face and very smoothly pulled the bandage covering his eyes off.  
  
Lemon hurried over to beside Rouge and both stared. Tenchi's eyes were shut but now they could see he WAS handsome indeed! Lemon sat next to Rouge and both waited as Tenchi slowly got used to having his eyelids exposed after so many weeks of having that bandage on. Then he took a deep breath and opened his eyes. Rouge stared. His eyes were red.  
  
"Tenchi, are your eyes alright??" asked Lemon eagerly.  
  
Tenchi seemed to be staring into space in their general direction. Rouge knew his answer before it was out of his mouth.  
  
"..No..."  
  
He was blind.  
  
After that devastating day, Tenchi was very silent. At night, Lemon thought she heard him crying but saw that he was quite still, silent as the dead in the dark. Once his burns had completely healed, he was moved to Rouge's infirmary, which was the downstairs of her actual house. Lemon had already moved in, happy to be away from Knuckles and her grandfather, who were both very annoying with their "guardian training".  
  
But they were surprised when Tank and his crew came over. The five of them were at the door, Tank at the front. Him and the others seemed very eager to help and Rouge didn't need to admit it, they needed it.  
  
And so they moved in. Tank helped with any equipment that was needed and, even though he wasn't staying there overnight, he was good company at dinner when he brought his wife and two children. The rest of them were single. The only girl, the light blue two-tailed fox, was named Vixy and it turned out she had been born very weak and had always been very small for her age. She was about the same age as Tails and usually helped Lemon and Rouge as nurses, since she had some experience from being frequently sick herself.  
  
Ojiisan was a wise old cheetah. He was the oldest of the crew and usually just sat there, watching. Every once in awhile, he'd talk to Tenchi. Either than that, he was a cook, which was much better than Rouge's burnt food.  
  
Geoffroy was a grey dog and he was the navigator for the crew. He had a British accent and was always very proper. Him and Tenchi became rather good friends because Geoff was usually there when Tenchi was suffering and helped him through it. He was also good at listening, which was good when Tenchi needed to talk to someone.  
  
And then there was Spike. Spike was a weasel and used to hang with Nack the weasel before he was kicked out for stealing from his comrade. He was a thief and was very scruffy-looking. It was a mystery to Lemon how he knew so much about medicine and such.  
  
After time, though, she became quite attached to them all and they were excellent company. Tenchi seemed to enjoy listening to them all talk but he usually tried to pay more attention to Lemon for some reason. 


	3. Chapter Two Fate

**Disclaimer: Sonic The Hedgehog and all related characters are copyright to SEGA. Lemon the Echidna, Tenchi the Hedgehog and all related characters that don't belong to SEGA belong to me, Zeldafreak-Vikki and my friend, Alyssa the Bat!  
  
CHAPTER TWO - FATE**  
  
Space Colony ARK. The first ever Bernoulli Spherical space colony, created 50 years ago by Gerald Robotnik, who was always trying to create The Ultimate Life Form. He had indeed created such a life form but no one knew who it was. Sonic and Knuckles had witnessed a battle between two of the creations: Shadow the Hedgehog and the supposed prototype of the Ultimate Life Form, the Biolizard.  
  
But now both were dead.  
  
Well, almost anyway.  
  
Professor Gerald had created six life forms. Together, they were said to be the Ultimate Life Form. No one would believe it though. The only one who knew the truth was a scientist named Matt Haruna, who had been Professor Gerald's right hand and had survived the raid on the ARK done by G.U.N. It was then that Maria, the professor's granddaughter, had been killed. Matt never spoke of his working with the professor although rumor said that he had smuggled a project from the ARK and had released it into the world. People hoped it wasn't true, as they were all said to be powerful and highly dangerous.  
  
Because he had created such dangerous creatures, Professor Gerald had also created the only thing that could surely destroy them. Of course they could die, they weren't immortal - but they were extremely hard to kill. So the professor created the ultimate poison: Viper X. This poison, if injected, ran through the bloodstream ten times faster than any other poison. All of the projects pocess the power to use the Chaos Emeralds. So Professor Gerald created the Viper X Machine - a machine, when installed, could target a being holding a Chaos Emerald or using the power somehow and hit them with a huge dart, injecting roughly ten wine glasses of poison into their bloodstream.  
  
However, now that the professor was long gone, one of the projects who was still on ARK had his own uses for the machine. This project was Jigoku.  
  
Jigoku was a sort of reincarnation of the Biolizard. He was much smaller and yet much stronger as well. He greatly resembled a raptor except with more human qualities. His hands and feet had great claws and his teeth were very long and sharper than swords. After Super Sonic and Super Shadow had taken the Biolizard's life, Jigoku had awakened in the lab just in time to watch his great rival, Shadow, die. It had been oh so sweet but now it was time to deal with the other.  
  
Sonic the Hedgehog.  
  
Just like Shadow, he was a supersonic hedgehog with incredible mind powers and a talent for using the Chaos Emeralds. He was younger, though, and seemed much more care-free than Shadow, who had been hidden for so long. As for Sonic, he seemed to have no boundaries. Jigoku needed to avenge his own death. Viper X could kill Sonic.  
  
After all, it was _meant_ to kill him.

  
  
Tenchi cringed as another wave of pain passed over him. Lemon was sitting next to him on his bed, hugging him close and wishing she could find a way to make it all stop for him. She had simply gone downstairs to get a drink of water when Ojiisan came, telling her that Tenchi was sick. Rouge was out with Knuckles at that hour so it was just Lemon there. And she was completely baffled. She had no idea what was hurting him so badly. All that Tenchi could manage to say didn't make much sense either, "He's going...to kill him...He's going...to...kill..."  
  
Ojiisan was sitting there beside the bed, observing calmly. "He is having a vision, I think." he said.  
  
Lemon looked up at him, puzzled. "Vision? What kind of vision would hurt him like this?"  
  
Ojiisan's old eyes glittered dangerously. "A vision... of death."  
  
Lemon's heart skipped a beat. Tenchi was seeing someone die? Was that even possible or was Ojiisan going senile?  
  
"Lemon..." The echidna looked down to see Tenchi's eyes were still closed. He was still out but talking.  
  
"What is it, Tenchi?" she asked, deciding to play along.  
  
"Th-That's not my real name..." he said, his voice growing weaker and weaker by the second. "My n-name is..."  
  
Lemon felt as if a building had fallen on her as he went lifeless from fatigue.  
  
The next morning, Tenchi didn't remember a thing of what had happened. But he was terribly pale and even more sick than before. So much for Lemon thinking he was healthier. She told him not to give up but he just replied saying, "Just let me die..."  
  
He had given up.  
  
But Ojiisan wouldn't tolerate that. He went right next to Tenchi and he began to say things to him with such an intensity that Lemon's heart was beating in her chest.  
  
"Don't even think about giving up!" he said. "You still have reason to live on!"  
  
Tenchi turned his head away, his dead eyes filled with such a sorrow it made Lemon want to cry. "I have no reason..."  
  
"You have us!" Ojiisan said fiercely. "We're all here, trying to help you! Our hopes will have been in vain if you give up like this!" He seemed to notice how much his voice was rising and calmed down, leaning in closer and speaking in a whisper like the wind. "I am a cheetah, I am an animal meant for speed."  
  
At that last word, Tenchi's ears perked up. He was listening.  
  
"I have been watching you. Your reflexes are faster than any other being I've ever seen. Your build is perfect for accelerating to a very fast pace in a short period of time. And even though you have lost a sense... the others have intensified..."  
  
Tenchi gulped and looked back in Ojiisan's direction. He looked confused. Ojiisan grinned triumphantly. "Do you have memories of speed?"  
  
Tenchi seemed very uncertain. He clenched his teeth as he groped for words that just wouldn't come. Ojiisan put a hand on Tenchi's burning forehead. "Don't worry about it now. Get some rest."  
  
Everyday after that morning, Ojiisan would spend a few hours with Tenchi, training him to use all of his other senses together. Soon enough, he knew whenever a person was in the room simply from their footsteps. And once he was allowed to walk, he was even able to help out a bit. After three years of staying with Rouge, he became a good help.

A desperate cry rang out over the communication system of the X Tornado. Tails was flying it up over a tower, one of Eggman's old bases, which had been destroyed a year before. Sonic had gone in to see why it was operational again but it wasn't going so good.  
  
"Sonic?! Sonic, what's going on!" yelled Tails, hoping Sonic could hear him over the comminicators. Sonic's voice was sounding panicked and rushed.  
  
"Whoever this guy is, he's got a system going through the whole tower and it's shootin' at me!!!"  
  
Tails gulped. "Where are you? I'll pick you up before it can get you!"  
  
Sonic grunted in frustration. "Don't try it!! These darts are huge! I don't want you getting hi-AAAHHHH!!!"  
  
Tails' heart stopped. His radio was now emitting plenty of static. He opened up another channel, on which Knuckles the Echidna had been listening to them from the ground.  
  
"Knuckles!!" Tails said anxiously. "Did you hear-?"  
  
"I'm on it!" said Knuckles, running out from his hiding place. Once he was in range, a barage of darts shot out at him. He pushed on, dodging them. Tails watched in shock. How could the darts target him like that? Were they attracted to something...? Then it clicked.  
  
The Master Emerald. Knuckles was carrying it. And Sonic had a Chaos Emerald with him! Another idea struck and Tails turned his communicator back to Sonic.  
  
"Sonic!! Sonic, if you can hear me, CHAOS CONTROL!!!"  
  
Sonic was in the tower, lying on his side, the Chaos Emerald clasped in one hand. Someone very tall and muscular was stepping towards him but the person was too blurry to make out and Sonic's eyes would only open halfway. He groaned as Tails' voice screeched over the communicator. Then the person's clawed foot smashed it. Sonic clenched his teeth as the heavy foot pushed down on his head.  
  
"Sayonara, Sonic the Hedgehog." it sneered.  
  
Sonic shut his eyes and his grip on the Chaos Emerald tightened. "Ch- Chaos Control!!" He heard the person scream as he disappeared in a brilliant flash of light and reappeared outside, a few feet above the air, still surrounded by that light. Time had been frozen, all except for Sonic, Knuckles and Tails. Knuckles stopped and stared as Sonic was slowly lowered to in front of him, darts in mid-air around them. Knuckles let Sonic's limp body land in his arms and the light vanished. Time was restored and the darts flew at them. Knuckles dodged them and quickly ran away from the tower. The X Tornado swooped down and Knuckles jumped onto one of the wings. Then they were up and away.  
  
"Tails!!" yelled Knuckles over the noise of the engines. "Sonic's hurt! Head for Rouge's!!"  
  
Tails felt a jolt of panic run through him. No one had ever succeeded in hurting Sonic to the point where he couldn't move before. Eggman definitely wasn't behind this one. They made it to Rouge's in a mere ten minutes but to Tails and Knuckles, it seemed more like ten days. Right when they got there, it began to rain. Knuckles rushed up to the entrance and nearly broke the door banging on it with his fists. Tails stared as a white hedgehog with red eyes that seemed to be constantly staring into space opened the door.  
  
"Who's there?"  
  
Knuckles was gasping from sheer panic as he stepped in, carrying Sonic. "Where's Rouge?? My friend's hurt!"  
  
The hedgehog pointed down a hallway and Knuckles ran off with Sonic. Tails stepped inside as the hedgehog closed the door slowly. The young fox looked up at the hedgehog curiously. "Excuse me, who are you?" he asked.  
  
The hedgehog jumped. "Whoa! Sorry, didn't know someone was still there!" he said. "They call me Tenchi. And you are?"  
  
"I'm Tails! Good to meet ya, Tenchi!" He held out his hand and Tenchi's hand cautiously reached out and shook it. Tails' ears bobbed with curiosity.  
  
"Sorry," he began "but are you-?"  
  
"Blind?" replied Tenchi. "Yeah, it's been that way for three years. Now, who's hurt?"  
  
Tails began to explain while they made their way down the same hallway Knuckles had gone, Tenchi paying close attention.  
  
"So, your friend, Sonic, was hit by a dart and it stopped him immediatly?" said Tenchi when Tails had finished.  
  
Tails nodded. "Just like that!"  
  
Tenchi reached for the door handle as he looked thoughtful. "Must be a very strong poison to take down someone like Sonic, from what your description of him suggests."  
  
They walked into the hospital wing as quietly as they could, Tails holding onto one of Tenchi's arms, leading him the right way. Tenchi knew his way around but he still enjoyed the fact that this young fox was so eager to help him. He grinned as he noticed Lemon walking to them. He recognized her light footsteps coming a mile away.  
  
"Tenchi, there's another hedgehog in here, could you help Rouge out? I need to calm my brother down." With that, she was gone.  
  
Tenchi turned his face to point to Tails. "Would you like to help me?"  
  
Tails nodded, then, remembering Tenchi couldn't see, said, "Yeah!" and he led Tenchi to the bed where Rouge was sitting. Sonic was lying there, gasping in pain. Tails hurried to the other side of the bed while Tenchi consulted Rouge.  
  
"There's a dart in his arm. It pierced the bone." said a very frustrated Rouge. Tenchi sat next to her and very lightly felt out Sonic's arm. From what he felt, he could tell there was alot of blood spilling out from where the dart had hit, that the dart was very big and that it had indeed gone through the bone. He felt around the back part of the dart and his heart missed a beat; it was still pumping poison into the hedgehog's blood stream.  
  
"Rouge, it's still poisoning him, we gotta pull it out now!" he said, his calm voice hinting only the slightest bit of urgency. Rouge gulped. "Er, ok, I'll hold his arm still." She leaned over and held down Sonic's arm. The blue hedgehog didn't struggle; he just braced himself.  
  
Tenchi put one hand around the dart and the other held Sonic's arm steady. His own arm tensed up and, with one swift movement, he pulled the dart out. Sonic groaned as the bone shifted and Rouge quickly checked it. "Don't worry, Tenchi, you didn't break it or anything."  
  
Tenchi felt out where the table was and laid the dart there. Then, as Rouge was cleaning the gash, he reached over and touched Sonic's shoulder gently.  
  
"It's alright," he said, trying to sound reassuring. "You'll be fine."  
  
Sonic's eyes had closed now and he was shaking from fever. He nodded slowly and continued to battle the urge to pass out.  
  
"Th-Thanks... Shadow..."  
  
Tenchi stopped dead. Tails raised an eyeridge. "Shadow?! Sonic, Shadow's dead."  
  
Sonic shook his head. "But... I just heard...him..."  
  
Rouge's bottom lip quivered as a tear escaped her eye. "Rest, Sonic." She turned away, fighting the urge to sob. Tenchi didn't bother to ask. He got up and left. Tails caught up with him.  
  
"Who's Shadow?" asked Tenchi.  
  
"Shadow was a bio-genetically engineered hedgehog. He looked alot like Sonic and he had all the same powers too! Anyway, he got killed three years ago..."  
  
Tenchi was silent at this. Tails looked up at him.  
  
"Now that I think about it, you do sound alot like he did."  
  
Tenchi shrugged. "Maybe. I wouldn't know." 


	4. Chapter Three The Plan

**Disclaimer: Sonic The Hedgehog and all related characters are copyright to SEGA. Lemon the Echidna, Tenchi the Hedgehog and all related characters that don't belong to SEGA belong to me, Zeldafreak-Vikki and my friend, Alyssa the Bat!  
  
CHAPTER THREE - THE PLAN**  
  
The next morning, Sonic awoke to the sensation of a pair of hands feeling his face.  
  
What the-!  
  
He groaned and sat up, opening his eyes and looking wildly around. Then he saw that a strange white hedgehog was sitting next to his bed, withdrawing his hands in surprise and fear.  
  
"I'm sorry," he said in a shockingly calm voice.  
  
Sonic stared into those red eyes. They didn't stare back.  
  
"No problem..." he said. "What'm I doing here?"  
  
The hedgehog pointed to Sonic. "You were hit by a dart, remember?"  
  
Sonic looked down to see his arm was wrapped in bandages and it all came flying back to him. He looked back to the hedgehog.  
  
"Uh, listen," he began. "Do you know where my friends are?"  
  
The hedgehog nodded, looking pleased to help. "Yes, Rouge and that two-tailed fox are upstairs. I'll take you to them." He stood up, keeping a hand on his chair. Sonic shakily got up, still a little dizzy from how sick he had been all night.  
  
While they walked down the hallway, Sonic gazed at the white hedgehog curiously. "So, who are you?" he asked.  
  
The hedgehog didn't look to him. "They call me Tenchi," he said, his calm voice giving Sonic a very uneasy feeling. "But I don't think that's my real na-Oof!" He was cut off as he bumped into the side of the staircase. Sonic reached his hands out and quickly caught the poor hedgehog before he fell.  
  
"Whoa, you ok?!" he asked as he pulled Tenchi to his feet. He was surprisingly light.  
  
Tenchi chuckled nervously. "Uh, f-fine. Didn't...see that..." He reached a determined hand onto the railing and began climbing the steps. Sonic followed beside him. While they climbed, Sonic hesitated, then waved a hand in front of Tenchi's face. He didn't respond to it at all. He must be...  
  
"Hey, sorry if I'm soundin' rude," he said. "But... are you blind?"  
  
Tenchi sighed. "Yes," he replied, sounding depressed. "Yes, I am."  
  
Sonic felt a pang of pity in his chest. He couldn't even imagine how horrible it would be to lose his sight. If that had happened, he wouldn't be able to run anymore, he wouldn't be able to see where he was going again. He'd never see Amy's beautiful face again...  
  
"Here we are." Tenchi opened a door for Sonic and the blue hedgehog stepped into a living room. Knuckles was lying asleep on a couch, Lemon sitting on the floor next to him, looking tired. She looked up at them and stood up, walking to them as Tenchi closed the door.  
  
"Sonic, feeling better?" she asked. Sonic nodded. "Yeah... uh, where's Tails?"  
  
Lemon pointed to the entrance to the kitchen, where Sonic spotted one of Tails' tails flooshing up and down as he was talking with Rouge. He muttered thanks and hurried over to them. Lemon walked to Tenchi and lightly touched his hand to let him know she was there.  
  
"What's the matter, Tenchi?" she asked. "You look troubled..."  
  
"It's nothing." he replied coldly and walked along into the kitchen to see if he could be of any use there. Lemon watched him go and wished that he knew how she felt about him.  
  
"Miss Lemon, you're staring. "said a voice behind her. Lemon jumped and turned to see Geoff standing there. He grinned as Lemon blushed.  
  
"I must say, you care alot for him, don't you?" inquired the dog.  
  
Lemon furrowed her eyeridges, wishing she could avoid the conversation. "I just want to know who he is! That's all!"  
  
Geoff chuckled in his throat. "Don't we all?"  
  
As Tenchi felt around to tidy up, he listened to Rouge talk.  
  
"Well, I analyzed it, this Viper X stuff is deadly, which means we don't have much time."  
  
"I've got three days." replied Sonic.  
  
Tails and Rouge stared. "How do you know that?" asked Tails shakily. He couldn't stand the thought of his best friend dying.  
  
Sonic crossed his arms. "Well," he said. "I, uh..."  
  
Rouge cut him off. "That doesn't matter now! Tails, you've got to figure out where this came from and where we can get the antidote. I'll check with my own sources, I still know a few spies." Sonic stepped forward. "What about me?" he asked.  
  
Rouge grinned to him. "You get to sit here and rest... or else!" Sonic scowled.  
  
"But I feel fine!" he protested. "Seriously! I'm not sick anymore!"  
  
Rouge raised an eyeridge. "You've got to be. You couldn't even move yesterday!"  
  
"He won't go into that state again until he's close to dying, three days from now."  
  
They all turned to where Tenchi was putting away newly washed dishes by touch. He looked relatively calm.  
  
"The Viper X is running through his bloodstream but at an incredibly slow rate. It's very thorough and it will take a whole three days to fully kill him. However, it will still slow him down so he shouldn't do anything too strenuous."  
  
Sonic stared. How did this amnesiac hedgehog know so much about this mysterious poison?  
  
Tails decided to be open. "Tenchi, how do you-?"  
  
Tenchi shrugged and closed the cupboards as he finished putting the plates away. Then he turned and left, leaving the kitchen silent.  
  
Rouge and Tails got to work on their search for some answers while Sonic was forced to stay in the house. He spent the morning in the infirmary, looking around, trying to find something interesting to do. At one point, he managed to eavesdrop on Lemon talking to Tenchi.  
  
"So, the Floating Island is going to move soon..." she said. Tenchi turned to her, startled.  
  
"Move??"  
  
Lemon nodded, even though he couldn't see. "I'll be going back and it'll be blown out of range." She sighed. "I won't get to see you guys for an entire year. This only happens once every five years."  
  
Tenchi had a sad expression on his face, even though that was quite common, this time he meant it.  
  
"That's...too bad."  
  
Sonic watched interested as Tenchi turned away numbly, looking embarrassed. Lemon was blushing. What did it all mean?  
  
"Ah, seen those two, have you?"  
  
Sonic jumped and turned to see Geoff standing there, Spike grinning beside him, exposing a golden tooth. Sonic looked puzzled.  
  
"Is there somethin' goin' on between them?" he asked. Spike cackled.  
  
"Aye, those two 'ave been together longer 'n I can remember since we met 'em three years ago."  
  
Geoff smiled. "It's a shame. Tenchi is so closed off, he doesn't know how to express his feelings. I'm sure he has some strong ones towards Lemon."  
  
Sonic puts his hands on his hips, getting interested. "What's the deal with him anyway? What happened to him?"  
  
Geoff paused. "Well, it's an odd case, really." He paused again as he thought how to best put it. "We were all out on our fishing boat. It was a ghastly night, full of lightning, thunder and enough rain to soak a fish. Ojiisan there was on watch, " He pointed dramatically to where the old cheetah was sitting on a chair, "and he yelled to us, saying he had seen something fall from the sky!"  
  
"The sky?!" exclaimed Sonic, his eyes wide. This was beyond weird!  
  
"Yes, indeed. He said he saw the white hedghog fall, surrounded by flames and land hard in the water, as if he was a meteor, striking the very Earth!" He said this all with much drama and both Sonic and Spike were staring.  
  
"Heh, expect Geoff to make it into a great story," said a strikingly deep voice. They all turned to see Tank standing there, the big muscular wolf. Beside him was his wife, Luna and his two children, a little boy and a little girl. The little boy, Isaac, stepped forward excitedly and stared up at Sonic.  
  
"Y-You're Sonic the Hedgehog, aren't you!" he said, his voice small.  
  
Sonic grinned. "Yup!" He held out a hand to shake Isaac's. "And what's your name?"  
  
"I'm Isaac!" he said proudly. The little girl shyly walked up to her brother and poked his shoulder. He looked back to her and quickly looked to Sonic excitedly. "Oh! This is my little sister! Her name's Maria!"  
  
Sonic held out a hand and repeated the name thoughtfully. "Maria..."  
  
Maria smiled shyly, her blonde and curly locks shining by her blue eyes. "Hi...Mr. Sonic."  
  
At that moment, Vixy came in. "We need help in the kitchen!"  
  
Sonic stared. A two-tailed fox? Just like his buddy Tails!  
  
"I will. I've got nothing better to do!" He followed Vixy into the kitchen and for many hours, he helped her and Luna in the kitchen, getting to know about everyone. He was especially interested in Vixy. And she seemed interested to learn about Tails.  
  
"He sounds...charming." she giggled as Sonic told her of his piloting skills. "So, you call him a genius?"  
  
Sonic grinned as he picked up another potato to peel. "Oh yeah. He has the technology and the brains to rival Dr. Eggman!"  
  
Vixy smiled. "He sounds...sweet too. I hope I meet him soon."  
  
Sonic smiled back. "I think he'll like you alot."  
  
Tenchi walked in, looking tired. "Rouge and Tails called. They said they were successful in finding some information on the poison. They should be back soon. Do you guys need any help?"  
  
Vixy smiled. "Oh no, Tenchi, it's alright. You can go on and relax."  
  
Tenchi turned cautiously and walked out of the kitchen, sighing. Sonic watched him go, suddenly feeling very strange.  
  
"What's the matter, Sonic?" asked Vixy, seeing his odd expression. He looked to her uneasily.  
  
"Well I-..." he began, stammering. Then he paused and thought better of his feelings. "It's nothing."  
  
What was the deal? Why did Tenchi give Sonic such a terrible feeling everytime he saw him?  
  
It was awhile later when Tails and Rouge came back, Tails looking very stressed as he blindly ran in, holding a paper over his head.  
  
"Sonic!! Sonic!! I found it! It's from Space Colony- WARRGH!!!"  
  
Everyone who had been in the kitchen, looked up as they heard the sound of many things falling and breaking. Sonic was the first one in, the others following. They found Tails all covered in broken china and a whole shelf was knocked over. Rouge screamed at him over her broken antiques (Sonic suspected they had been stolen) while Vixy helped him into a chair.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, OK, Rouge! I'm sorry!" he turned urgently to Sonic while Vixy gently put little bandages where he had cut himself. "Sonic! The Viper X was created by Professor Gerald Robotnik a little over 50 years ago! The antidote should be on Space Colony ARK!"  
  
Sonic just stared. He felt as if a brick had hit him in the head. This all sounded uncomfortably familiar...  
  
"ARK?? How do you expect us to get up there?!" Knuckles demanded. "We don't have a rocket anymore!"  
  
"Well, you were the one who crashed it, knucklehead!" yelled a very familiar voice from the door.  
  
They all turned to find Amy Rose standing there. Three years had really changed her. She was wearing a small red T-shirt that said "Rose" on it in white letters across her chest and black pants, which fit her almost perfectly. She seemed much older, even though she had only grown an inch and a half. Her quills were the only thing that seemed to be the same, except they seemed a bit longer. Sonic was the only one who didn't stare as she gracefully walked in. He still wasn't being nice to her but he wasn't being that cruel, either. He hated to admit it to himself, but he was starting to like Amy. Alot. So he decided to stop being such a jerk to her. But he'd NEVER tell her how he felt! That would be fatal to his reputation... right?  
  
"Sonikku! What's going on!" she demanded, rushing to him, a concerned look upon her pretty face. "Why do you look so pale?!" She looked down. "And what happened to your arm!"  
  
Sonic gulped and tried to keep his face straight. "Uh...Well, I, uh..."  
  
"He's poisoned!" called Tails from where he was sitting, still being helped by Vixy.  
  
Sonic gave Tails a look that told he was in for it later. But for now, the blue hedgehog had bigger problems. Amy cried out in pure horror. "OHHH SONIKKU!!" She wrapped her arms around his middle and wailed, nearly knocking him off his feet from both the hug and the loud sound. Tenchi himself cringed at the sudden noise.  
  
Sonic looked helpless as he tried to pry her off. "It's ok, Amy!" he said through clenched teeth as he struggled to get her off. Once he had her by the shoulders up in front of him, he blushed as he realized Amy was crying - for real.  
  
"L-Listen Amy!" he said, trying to keep his voice strong. "There's no need to get so worked up! Nothing's gonna happen!"  
  
Amy sniffled. "But you look terrible, Sonikku!"  
  
Sonic sighed with a small smile. "C'mon, Amy. You know I can't be beaten that easily!"  
  
There was a silence as both Sonic and Amy realized everyone was staring. He quickly let go of her shoulders. Rouge grinned and slithered next to his shoulder.  
  
"Oooooh, someone's gotta crush!" she taunted. Sonic clenched his teeth, blushing. "Shut-up, Rouge!"  
  
Vixy giggled but Lemon just rolled her eyes. "Get back on track, you idiots!! He's not getting any better, you know!" The others stared numbly at her but then Sonic sighed. "Well, there's only one thing to do, then. Go to the Space Colony ARK and get that antidote!"  
  
Knuckles scratched his head. "But how?"  
  
There was a long and very uncomfortable silence as everyone pondered the situation. Finally, Tank stepped forward.  
  
"I have a space transporter."  
  
Sonic looked over to the wolf. "Really?!"  
  
Tank smiled. "Yeah. And I'll let you guys use it. But it only has enough energy for three people..."  
  
Tails grinned. "No problem! Sonic's going for sure, I can go to secure the location and pinpoint the antidote's location..."  
  
"I'm going!" said Amy with a finalizing tone, hugging Sonic's arm close.  
  
Tails left his mouth open as he stared. He didn't know how to reply. Sonic hesitated. "Amy, it's too dangerous..." Amy looked to him, her eyes narrowed. "Don't you dare try to talk me out of it! I'm coming and that's that!"  
  
Sonic sighed. He was turning soft. He hoped it wouldn't last. 


	5. Chapter Four The Dream

**Disclaimer: Sonic The Hedgehog and all related characters are copyright to SEGA. Lemon the Echidna, Tenchi the Hedgehog and all related characters that don't belong to SEGA belong to me, Zeldafreak-Vikki and my friend, Alyssa the Bat!  
  
I wanted to say THANK-YOU to all of you great people who gave this fic reviews! It's my first time posting on this since I was too shy before and I'm glad people like it! I'll be adding chapters all the time unless I get writer's block (which is quite rare, don't worry)! Also, the person who asked about the Ultimate Life Form being six different beings... well, I'll reveal all that is mentionned in this and more later on in this. Sorry if this took awhile, I've been working alot! ;; And now, Chapter 4! (note that I'm splitting this fic up into parts, I don't want to do separate fics)...  
  
CHAPTER FOUR - THE DREAM**  
  
While all of the girls were bustling around to make dinner for all of the people staying in Rouge's house, the rest of them decided they'd eat outside and watch the sun go down. Geoff and Spike were having fun telling stories to Tails, Vixy and the two little children, Isaac and Maria, while Sonic was sitting a little ways off, watching the sunset and hoping to ignore the terrible thoughts running through his head. Inside, he could hear Amy, Rouge and Lemon running around, gathering things and shouting orders to one another while Ojiisan was cooking, grumbling to himself from being surrounded by these panicky women. Sonic grinned and leaned back in his chair, thinking of maybe sleeping for awhile when he realized Tenchi was leaning over the railing of the patio they were on, gazing blankly at the sunset draping itself over the ocean. Sonic was taken aback by the extreme sadness in his eyes. He cautiously went to beside Tenchi and was just wondering how to best present himself to a blind person when he spoke.  
  
"Hello, Sonic." said Tenchi in that same low and extremely calming voice, keeping his gaze focused on the sunset.  
  
Sonic stared. "How did you know it was me?!"  
  
Tenchi grinned. "I memorised your manner of walking. You're very rushed and take quicker steps than the others. Also, my hearing's quite good now that my sight's gone, I could hear you humming."  
  
"Wow!" exclaimed Sonic as he leaned his elbows on the railing next to Tenchi. "So, uh, something wrong?"  
  
"Hm?" Tenchi looked in his general direction, which Sonic noted was quite accurate. "No, I'm just thinking... Why do you ask?"  
  
Sonic looked towards the sunset as he answered. "Well, I just noticed you looked...sad. Is there something eatin' at you?"  
  
Tenchi looked to him, puzzled. "...'eating at me'?"  
  
Sonic paused, then realizing Tenchi didn't understand, laughed. Something he hadn't done in awhile and man, did it feel good!  
  
"A-ha! No, Tenchi, I meant is something bothering you. 'Eating at you' is an expression used when asking that. As if..." He stopped, thinking how to best put it. "Y'know when you've got ths one annoying feeling that won't leave you alone 'til you let it out? As if it's eating at your brain or heart or whatever?"  
  
Tenchi nodded to Sonic, smiling to himself with that same sad look. "Funny. You seem to know how I feel."  
  
Sonic blinked, then leaned forward, suddenly serious, feeling as if this had happened before. "I'm listening..."  
  
Tenchi hesitated and Sonic could tell from his expression that he felt as if he was having a sense of Déja Vu as well. He was beginning to wonder about it when the amnesiac finally spoke, his head bowed away from Sonic.  
  
"E-Ever since I woke up that day in the hospital, three years ago, my whole world was turned upside down. I had very little memory. And once we found out I was blind, I was... in shock. I knew that I must've had my sight before because I remember images in my sleep, although I forget most of them. Even though so much time has passed since I moved in with Rouge, I can't even remember my own name. Let alone friends or family, if I had any. I only remembered one name and I'm so sure it's not my own. I just wish it would all come back to me but it's so hard to even try to remember..." He stopped, gulping. "This must sound stupid to you..."  
  
Sonic shook his head. "Oh no, it's really interesting! Uh, what was the name that you remembered?"  
  
Tenchi looked up towards the sunset and his voice suddenly sounded much stronger as he wielded the name like a dangerous weapon.  
  
"Arashi."  
  
Sonic's eyes widened and he gasped inaudibly. That name felt like an arrow piercing his very soul. As if it had been programmed to be known. Sonic clenched his teeth, looking down uneasily. Just like Tenchi, that name seemed to be a clue to something forgotten. The one thing that Sonic feared the most:  
  
His past. He couldn't remember it, of course. He had just woken up one day in a forest and had started running all the way until he came to a town, where he began to learn and had eventually made his own plane. That's how he had later on met Tails, which led to meeting the others as well. Then his purpose had seemed clear: I am different. Maybe I can use this to an advantage. And indeed, it had come in handy when Eggman had begun terrorizing Station Square and the Floating Island.  
  
"Sonic?"  
  
Sonic snapped out of his painful memories as Tenchi said his name, as if from a distance. Sonic looked to him, an almost concerned feeling bursting inside him.  
  
"What is it?" he asked.  
  
Tenchi was keeping that blank gaze on the sunset as the last of it was going down. "Er..." He breathed, embarrassed. "How...does the sunset look tonight?"  
  
Sonic looked to it and a small smile played on his lips. "It's beautiful. Too beautiful."  
  
Dinner was served and everyone ate outside. Sonic was keeping his eye on Tenchi the whole time, a constant feeling of worry eating at him. He wondered why he felt this way. He didn't even know Tenchi that well!  
  
"Mister Sonic?" asked a small voice below. Sonic looked down to see the little girl, Maria, gazing up at him with those sapphire blue eyes.  
  
"Yes?" he asked, leaning down to her as he sat.  
  
"Um, I wanted to say goodbye before we left. Daddy has to go to bed early tonight."  
  
Sonic grinned. "Alright!" He held out his hand.  
  
Maria shook it with her two little paws and blushed. "Adios, Sonic the Hedgehog!"  
  
Sonic felt a small pang of shock at those words. However, he managed to continue grinning until Maria had scampered away to Tank and Luna. Everyone said their goodbyes and headed off to bed. Tenchi slept in the infirmary, where Sonic was also while everyone else was jammed into the guest rooms. Sonic frowned as he laid back, his mind spinning. He turned over and hugged his pillow close. As his eyelids began to get heavy, his last thought ran by. What a weird day...  
  
He was standing in a shadowy room, which had a robotic feeling to it. He had been there before, of course. He turned to try to find a way out only to find the door blocked by a big figure. He squinted his eyes to discern what it was but it was impossible in this light. He felt a humiliating cowardice rise inside him as it spoke.  
  
"Ah, there you are. Finally starting to wake up, aren't you?"  
  
Sonic gulped, trying to speak as strongly as he could in this present situation. "Wh-What're you talking about?"  
  
"You've been keeping yourself in the dark, blinding yourself from the truth inside. You don't even know who are."  
  
Sonic clenched his teeth, suddenly so angry, it hurt. "Of course I know who I am! I'm Sonic the Hedgehog!"  
  
The figure grinned a grin that was identical to Sonic's. "Given yourself a name, huh? Well, 'Sonic', you're just a bit more than that." The figure looked up and Sonic suddenly got a funny thought. An awesome possibility of who this strange figure was. He started running forward, feeling as if time was running out.  
  
"You!! I know you!" He was suddenly falling through darkness, being consumed by the shadows. He reached out blindly, screaming. "ARASHIIIII!!"  
  
Sonic gasped and woke up, sitting upright in bed, panting and in a cold sweat. He looked down at his shaking hands and clenched them, catching his breath. It was just a dream. A crummy dream...  
  
"Sonic! Oh my gosh, he's finally awake!" Sonic looked over to see Tails rushing up to beside him, looking sick with worry. "Sonic! Are you ok?! Was it a nightmare?!"  
  
Sonic stared, then realized he must've actually screamed out loud! He gulped and nodded shakily. "I-I'm fine, buddy. Just a stupid nightmare."  
  
Tails sat down on the bed, concern in his eyes. "Sonic, you look even worse than before. Are you sure you're ok?"  
  
Sonic sighed, nodding. "Yeah, yeah. Probably just the stupid Viper X or whatever it's called..."  
  
"The X Viper." Tails nodded. "Yeah, once we get up to ARK tomorrow, we'll get you that antidote. I promise I'll find it, even if I have to make it myself!" Then he yawned and Sonic grinned, patting the kitsune's head. "G'night, bro."  
  
Tails zombie-walked back to his room and Sonic sighed, lying back in bed. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, turned over a bit and dozed off again. Across the room, a pair of mahogany eyes glowed as they watched. 


	6. Chapter Five Unknown

**Disclaimer: Sonic The Hedgehog and all related characters are copyright to SEGA. Lemon the Echidna, Tenchi the Hedgehog and all related characters that don't belong to SEGA belong to me, Zeldafreak-Vikki and my friend, Alyssa the Bat!  
  
Glad to see some are interested! I LOVE cliff-hangers! Also, if you visit my website, you can check out my artwork! I'm gonna be adding pictures of Lemon and Tenchi and even Jigoku, if anyone wants to see! (hopefully soon, I've been working a lot) ENJOY! And sorry this is so late, I'll make the next one immediately!  
  
CHAPTER FIVE - UNKNOWN**  
  
It was almost noon when Tenchi finally woke up. Sonic was fascinated with how soundly the hedgehog had slept. Sonic himself had barely slept a wink, he was so anxious to get up to ARK and get that antidote. He hadn't wanted to admit it before, but he was starting to realize that the poison was indeed taking effect. He was starting to feel a bit sluggish, not at all like before when he could just spring to his feet and take off at the speed of sound. This made him very impatient. It was beyond his will to relax. It almost made him angry to see someone like Tenchi be so calm! If HE had been Tenchi, he'd be trying to find out who he was at all costs! Didn't Tenchi care at all who he was?  
  
They were all in the kitchen, Tails, Knuckles and Rouge packing up some supplies while Tank was waiting for them impatiently at the door. Since his house was quite far away, he was pressuring them to hurry. This made Sonic even more nervous. While they were walking out the door, Lemon interrupted by grabbing her brother's arm.  
  
"Knuckles! Where do you think you're going!"  
  
Knuckles had an annoyed expression on his face as he glared back at her. "I'm goin' to help Sonic, dummy!"  
  
Lemon glared back and a jolt of anger seemed to run through her at the insult. "You idiot! The island's movin' TONIGHT!" In her sudden outburst, Lemon seemed to grow while Knuckles shrank. He chuckled nervously.  
  
"B-But, I've gotta help! You don't want Sonic to DIE, do you?!" He noticed everyone giving him looks and calmed down. "Listen, I'll come tonight, don't worry... I just need to do this first."  
  
Lemon sighed. "Ok, fine..."  
  
Sonic snickered as he came next to Knuckles as they left the house. "I thought you were supposed to be the older one!" he taunted.  
  
Knuckled growled, exposing his fangs. "Oh, shut up!"  
  
Tank came to his Jeep and helped Tails lift all of his little tools and supplies into the back. Sonic crossed his arms. "Can't I just run??"  
  
Rouge gave him a stern look which reminded him of Lemon. "No." She opened the door, her vicious eyes still on him. "In. Now."  
  
He had no choice.  
  
Lemon watched from the window and giggled. Behind her, Tenchi looked up in her direction.  
  
"What's funny?" he asked.  
  
Lemon looked back to him. "Oh, Sonic's being forced to ride in Tank's Jeep. I think he'd rather run."  
  
"Run?" asked Tenchi, his dull red eyes gleaming with interest. "But...isn't the Jeep faster?"  
  
Lemon chuckled. "Not for Sonic! He can run faster than the speed of sound! Didn't Tails tell you?"  
  
Tenchi bowed his head. "No..." Something was coming to him. He wasn't sure if it was a memory or just a thought, but something was there, hiding in the shadows of his dark mind. If only...he could reach...  
  
"C'mon, we'd better clean up for when Rouge gets back."  
  
The white hedgehog snapped out of it and nodded to her. He followed her out of the room, disappointment crushing him.  
  
Up on the Space Colony ARK, Jigoku watched this curious little hedgehog on a screen in the laboratory where he had been created. He had no data whatsoever on this unknown rodent! He had tried every computer in the main laboratory!  
  
He hissed and was about to break something but stopped. His eyes narrowed as a solution presented itself. The computer in Laboratory Number Four. But that didn't make any sense. Only the Projects' data is in there... Unless...  
  
He bounded into the abandoned Lab Four and gazed around, his yellow eyes piercing the darkness. He wandered over to the old computer and with one claw, turned it on. He gazed around while waiting for it to be fully loaded. Lab Four had been where the first project, code-named "Project: Arashi", had been created. Later on, his clone had been created there as well. Jigoku cared not for the other projects. Their current locations had been marked unknown ever since ARK had been shut down fifty years ago. Besides, he was more powerful than those pathetic little creatures.  
  
Ah, finally! He leaned forward as the computer screen was lit and the data was displayed. He brought up the satellite picture of the white hedgehog and searched for a match. He was surprised when three matches came up.  
  
Project: Shadow.  
  
_Impossible!_ he thought in a rage to himself. _Shadow's dead! I killed him!  
_  
Project: Arashi.  
  
Hm, that didn't work either. Arashi had been killed even before ARK was raided!  
  
Project: ???  
  
Huh?  
  
He leaned in so close, his eyes hurt. This one was unknown. Odd... Its data must not have been installed. He checked for a picture. There was only one. It was a picture of a big tube-like tank. And inside was a baby white hedgehog. The clone?! Was that white hedgehog down on Earth Arashi's clone? It seemed to make sense. He immediately went to work on looking for more information.  
  
Too bad the hedgehog in the picture had its eyes closed, or he would've realized they were green. 


	7. Chapter Six Complications

**Disclaimer: Sonic The Hedgehog and all related characters are copyright to SEGA. Lemon the Echidna, Tenchi the Hedgehog and all related characters that don't belong to SEGA belong to me, Zeldafreak-Vikki and my friend, Alyssa the Bat!  
  
WOWIE!! I got 4 reviews in the first day for Chapter 5!!! THANK-YOU!! hugs every single reviewer I love you guys!! And as for MarthLover618, thanks for putting the story on your faves, I'm honoured! And don't worry, you may be confused now but the suspense will end once Part 1 is over.   
  
CHAPTER SIX - COMPLICATIONS**  
  
After picking up Amy from her apartment in Station Square, Tank took them all to his house, which took two hours. Sonic barely remembered it, because he ended up falling asleep on Amy's shoulder, the lack of sleep finally catching up to him. Amy blushed and leaned her head against his, happy to be close to him. Rouge was leaning on Knuckles too and his arm was around her. They had been going steady ever since they had first met and had become closer than normal friends. Tails, being the youngest, was allowed to sit in the front with Tank and those two were talking about mechanics almost the entire time. Amy blinked as she heard Sonic moan in his sleep. She looked down at him, concerned.  
  
"Hey, guys?" she said to Knuckles and Rouge. "I-I think Sonic's having a nightmare."  
  
At first, he was falling. Falling down, faster and faster until he finally landed in the water. He tried to scream but it was muffled by the water as he sank, a man's words echoing in his throbbing ears.  
  
"Hm, a flaw. He won't be able to swim without sinking straight to the bottom."  
  
And so he did. His feet landed lightly on the bottom and he looked around desperatly for a way out. Then, the water was gone. Just gone like that. The scenery had changed again! He whirled around, getting angry. But his anger was put out when an echidna's knuckles connected with his face and sent him spinning into the ground. As he twisted through the air, everything slowed down as an old memory flashed before his eyes in small parts. A hedgehog being attacked by that same echidna. Was it Knuckles?  
  
He rolled over to get up but stopped when he saw those clawed feet stepping towards him. Everything went dark and he couldn't see the monster's face. It hissed and, just like before, raised his foot to stomp down on his skull.  
  
"Sayonara, Sonic the Hedgehog!"  
  
Sonic shut his eyes as the clawed foot came slamming down but when he opened them again, he was back on ARK as Super Sonic, holding onto Super Shadow's hand as best he could.  
  
"Let go... It's too late..."  
  
He gasped and his green eyes opened, full of tears. He quickly wiped them away as he sat up straight. Amy watched him, a worried expression on her delicate face. "Sonic, are you ok?"  
  
Sonic looked to her, embarrassed. "I'm fine!"  
  
"If you say so..." said Amy, still watching him. He replied by looking away, out at the land they were passing. The dream was getting more clear. Ever since Shadow had died, Sonic had been having these weird dreams and they always reflected what had recently happened. This time, he had heard something else too.  
  
Professor Gerald Robotnik.  
  
He was so sure that had been his voice. His voice that had been talking about "the flaw". Sonic blinked in confusion. What did Gerald Robotnik have to do with him anyway? Some time ago, had the mad scientist actually said that?  
  
"We're here," announced Tank. Everyone got out of the Jeep and Tails dragged their stuff as they walked inside. Everyone gazed around in amazement. Tank's house wasn't just a house, it was a fortress! Everywhere they looked, there were computers, locators and so many other machines even Tails couldn't name. Tank grinned at the stunned looks on their faces.  
  
"Ah, I forgot to tell ya about my second job. I work for GUN."  
  
Sonic's tensed up. G.U.N. was a top secret military organization that worked for the government. They had been the ones who kept Shadow cryogenically frozen for fifty years. They were also the ones who arrested Sonic, thinking he was the black escapee. That had led to their base, Prison Island, being blown up. Ever since that whole incident, Sonic hadn't been on friendly terms with them.  
  
Tank chuckled and placed a hand on Sonic's shoulder. "Don't worry, buddy, I won't turn you in. I know about the misunderstanding..."  
  
He led them on into the main part of his house, which was more normal. The children were watching television while Luna, their mother, was making dinner. Everyone waved to her except for Amy, who was observing the dinner being made. Amy was known to be very competitive about cooking, as she hoped it would impress Sonic. Tails chuckled nervously and pulled her along as they descended some stairs into the basement. Tank told them to wait and walked towards the end of the room, where he began to fiddle around with some wires, twisting them together and untangling them. Finally, lights turned on, illuminating the whole basement, and there before them stood a space transporter.  
  
Rouge pushed past Knuckles and Sonic and stepped up to the computer- esque controls. The monitor was covered with data that was so complicated, the guys were confused by them. Tails shook his head at their confusion as Rouge stared. She then pressed a button and the entire screen flashed red. She gasped as Tails' eyes widened.  
  
"Oh, don't tell me," he said.  
  
Rouge gulped and faced them. "I'm afraid so..." Both Knuckles and Sonic replied with, "Huh?" Tails looked scared as he answered.  
  
"We-Well, this is very bad luck.... Y'see, this space transporter can't work on its own, it needs to draw power from another space transporter! But according to this," He pointed to the monitor. "All other space transporters on this planet have rather been destroyed or de- activated."  
  
Knuckles still looked confused but Sonic understood. He lashed out at Tails and shook the kitsune by his shoulders as Amy panicked and hid behind Knuckles. "Whaddya MEAN they've been de-activated!!! What about that one Eggman had?!"  
  
Tails' eyes were shut as he was rocked back and forth violently. "GUN made sure all of them were destroyed!!" he yelled. Sonic stopped and let go of Tails, who rubbed his shoulders as he continued. "I'll try to get a signal from a source but... don't get your hopes too high... I'm sorry..."  
  
Sonic sighed and walked out, ignoring Amy calling his name. It was almost the end of the second day. He'd be dead by this time tomorrow. And that wasn't a very comforting thought.  
  
Tenchi gasped and stopped dead in the middle of the hallway. It was at times like these he wished he could see. He was being watched. He turned slowly, his heart beating in his chest.  
  
"Who's there?" he called. It couldn't be Lemon, she was taking a shower upstairs. And everyone else had gone. So, who-?  
  
"I'm not there, I'm here."  
  
Tenchi's ears perked as he realized someone - or something - was standing behind him. Oh, if only he could see-!  
  
"We weren't blind before, you know..." said the mysterious figure. Tenchi guessed by his tone that he was probably grinning. "We could see quite well, actually..."  
  
"How would you know?!" asked Tenchi, deeply shaken. "Who are you?" While speaking, he reached his hand out and was quite alarmed when he felt nothing but empty air.  
  
"Don't even bother..." said the figure. "I am nothing but a shadow."  
  
"Shadow? Wh-What is...?" Tenchi was confused by this. What was a shadow?  
  
"Listen, that's not important right now," continued the figure. "Sonic's in trouble."  
  
Tenchi pushed his shock and fear away, clearing his mind. "Trouble... But what could I do about that?"  
  
The figure chuckled. "You can save him."  
  
And in that moment, Tenchi realized...  
  
He could.  
  
The figure vanished as Tenchi took off towards the stairs. And, as usual, he bumped into the railing. Rubbing his poor stomach and feeling extremely foolish, he bounded up the stairs, keeping one hand on the railing. He had to hurry in case he forgot...  
  
Lemon hummed to herself in the shower. She was so relaxed, no Knuckles, no Rouge, no nobody around to bother her. Just her and Tenchi together for that last evening before she left on the island. She was just getting out when the door slammed open. She screamed and quickly pulled her towel higher and was about to attack-  
  
"Lemon! I need your help!!"  
  
Lemon stared. It was Tenchi, and for once, he looked excited. At the same time, she blushed, realizing he couldn't see her.  
  
"Help? Help with what? Can't it wait?" she asked.  
  
"No," he replied urgently. "We've got to save Sonic!" 


	8. Chapter Seven Remember Me

**Disclaimer: Sonic The Hedgehog and all related characters are copyright to SEGA. Lemon the Echidna, Tenchi the Hedgehog and all related characters that don't belong to SEGA belong to me, Zeldafreak-Vikki and my friend, Alyssa the Bat!  
  
I was visiting my grandma all weekend so in the evening, I sat down at her gorgeous Windows XP (I have a crummy ME) and typed out Chapter 7. This chapter is pretty long considering I wrote it in one day. THANK-YOU SO MUCH to all of you wonderful people who reviewed the last chapter!! I'm so glad you like this story! And yes, go on and hug Tenchi, Dotty, he likes being hugged. :3  
  
CHAPTER SEVEN - REMEMBER ME**  
  
"Tenchi, I'm not so sure about this..." said Lemon uneasily.  
  
They were a few yards away from Rouge's house, standing at the tip of a high cliff that led down to a vast stretch of land that went on for miles and miles. All that Lemon knew was that Tank's house was somewhere far out there, in some remote location. But that was hours away...  
  
Tenchi gulped, looking as nervous as the echidna. He nodded.  
  
Lemon crossed her arms. "Ok, just let me go through this one more time," She paused as Tenchi nodded vigorously in agreement. He was obviously unsure as well. She walked to the very edge of the cliff, arranging it all in her mind.  
  
"Ok, so you're going to carry me on your back, somehow jump down to the bottom of this dangerously high cliff without killing us, somehow magically appear fifty miles out in some remote place to find a cave, where we'll find some sorta...machine, was it?"  
  
Tenchi clenched his teeth. "It's a computer-like machine... I can't remember its name though..."  
  
Lemon sighed. This was insane. There was no way they could possibly survive jumping down a cliff that high. It was impossible!  
  
Tenchi seemed to sense her negative thoughts and his ears drooped slightly. "Lemon, listen..." he began, sounding degraded. "I-I feel like I know what I'm doing... I just need you to trust me..." He held out his hand to her.  
  
Lemon looked down to his hand, which looked like it was grey in the darkness of the dying evening. She continued to gaze at his hand as the wind began to pick up and her quills began to whip around. And it was in that moment that she noticed something she hadn't before:  
  
Around Tenchi's wrist, there was a black ring. It looked like it was made out of some kind of metal. She looked down and noticed they were around his ankles as well, just above his ripped up shoes. But there were only three. A sudden memory flashed in front of her eyes and she gasped. Tenchi reacted to her gasp and reached out, finding her hand.  
  
"Lemon? What's the matter?" he asked urgently.  
  
Lemon blinked and a smile spread on her face. "Tenchi...Stay here for a minute!" Leaving him completely bewildered, she raced into the house. Dodging that annoying railing, she bounded up the stairs and into Rouge's room. She quickly went to the bat's desk and searched the drawers.  
  
A few minutes later, she marched back out to where Tenchi was sitting on a rock, waiting. He stood up at the sound of her approach and she grinned.  
  
"Ok, Tenchi, I think this belongs to you."  
  
And she held out the golden ring Rouge had dropped three years earlier. Tenchi took it shakily and the moment he touched it, all four rings glowed gold. The black was gone as if the wind had blown it away like ash. Lemon stared and looked as shocked as Tenchi was. She blinked as the light died down and Tenchi put the ring on, a bewildered look on his face.  
  
"What just happened?!" she asked.  
  
Tenchi looked very scared. "I-I'm not sure...But it's familiar..."  
  
Lemon thought for a moment. Her heart raced as she made up her mind.  
  
"Ok, Tenchi. I trust you."  
  
They inched nervously to the end of the cliff and as Lemon climbed up on Tenchi's back, her mind was repeating how she was going to die. She ignored it and simply shut her eyes and held on very tight. Tenchi could feel how scared she was and his hand somehow found hers. They both squeezed each other's hands and Lemon was reminded of when she had first met him, lying there in the hospital.  
  
He smiled as he remembered too, then held his breath as he bent his knees to jump. Then a deafening silence pounded in their ears as they launched off the edge of the cliff into the wind.  
  
Lemon screamed and her eyes shut tighter. She had heard of people who saw their lives flash before their eyes before they died. Lucky for her, she only saw the past three years.  
  
She remembered the first time she had seen Tenchi, lying there, looking so helpless.  
  
She remembered the first time she had seen his eyes, such a deep shade of red, staring blankly ahead.  
  
She remembered when she had helped him to learn how to walk again. The first time he had bumped into that darn railing by the stairs.  
  
She remembered the time he had been trying to help her with some chores only to have her slam the door on his tail. It had been broken for weeks and every time she apologized, he had always tried to make her feel better about how bent his tail was. That had been the first time he had smiled to her.  
  
And she remembered the time when she realized her feelings for him. Her chest jolted in panic. What if she never got the chance to tell him-?!  
  
"Tenchi, I- WAAH!!" She was cut off as they impacted the ground hard, Tenchi landing on his feet. Lemon shut her eyes again, waiting for him to hit the ground but it never came. After a few seconds, she finally opened her eyes and they widened to the size of plates.  
  
It felt as if they were going the Speed of Sound! Everything around them was nothing but one big blur of color and when Lemon looked behind them, she could see they were an orange and yellow blur themselves. She looked ahead again and noticed a tree was coming up ahead of them.  
  
"AH!! TENCHI, TREE AHEAD!!"  
  
Tenchi responded by zooming to the right and then back to the same straight path. Lemon held on tight and stared at his face bent in concentration.  
  
"Tenchi, how the heck are you doing this?!" she yelled over the noise of the wind.  
  
Tenchi grinned and it looked quite similar to Sonic's. "N-No idea but if we keep going this way, we'll be at that cave in no time! Just let me know if we're about to hit something!! I can't see!"  
  
"Sure thing!" replied Lemon, smiling. She pulled her quills out of her face and couldn't help giggling as they sped along together.  
  
An alarm went off. Jigoku suddenly sat up and smashed his head against the roof. He hissed and gripped his head as it pounded in pain. The computer was making a rhythmic beeping noise, almost like a heart-rate machine. Jigoku stomped over, still rubbing his head. He bared his fangs as he realized what was happening. He brought it up on the main screen and his fears were confirmed.  
  
That strange white hedgehog whom he predicted was the clone of Arashi was speeding towards the only remaining space transporter that could save Sonic! But how could that blind little rodent possibly know where to find that?! The only one with that information was Jigoku himself and the other earlier projects. Besides, according to the statistics, that hedgehog was blind!  
  
Then he could see on the screen that there was someone with him. Jigoku's reptilian eyes narrowed as they closed in on Lemon the Echidna. He hissed in frustration. This hedgehog could pose a threat to him. He immediately went to the space transporter of the ARK and set the coordinates. In seconds, he was in a cave. He sat in the shadows and waited.  
  
"IT'S THE CAVE! STOP!!"  
  
Tenchi stopped running, kicking up a bunch of dirt in the process and once Lemon jumped off, he collapsed to his knees, panting. Lemon lowered next to him as beads of sweat dripped down from his white-grey fur and touched his shoulder lightly.  
  
He looked up and his dull eyes glowed in the moonlight. "Is it nighttime?"  
  
Lemon nodded. "Yup."  
  
Tenchi groaned as he got to his feet. "We've gotta hurry... Sonic only has one more day left..." Lemon steadied him and they both entered the cave. The moment they entered, their whole atmosphere became pitch black. She gasped and stopped dead. Tenchi stopped at her hesitation.  
  
"What's the matter?" he asked.  
  
Lemon gulped, her eyes wide. "I can't see a thing," she replied.  
  
Tenchi smiled and felt where her hand was, taking it. "Then let me help you, in exchange for before..."  
  
Lemon blushed as he pulled her along. If Rouge could see them now...  
  
SPLASH!  
  
"AH!" Tenchi slipped and fell as his foot slid on some water. Lemon yelled and just managed to catch him. She looked down while pushing him back to his feet and realized...  
  
"There's a pool right in front of us...It looks really deep..." she explained. Tenchi's unseeing eyes narrowed. "I remember this... There should be some sort of passage under the water that'll lead straight to the room where that machine is..."  
  
Lemon clapped her hands. Finally, something she was good at.  
  
"Well, you'll be happy to know that I'm an expert at swimming! C'mon!" She grabbed his hand and dragged him into the water. As soon as they were in deep enough, Tenchi began to sink almost immediately. Lemon gasped and just managed to grab him and keep him afloat. She gasped as she struggled to keep him up.  
  
"Hold crap, Tenchi! You're sinking like a dead-weight!"  
  
Tenchi looked confused and scared. "This is new!"  
  
"D'oh! I can't hold you up, take a deep breath!"  
  
They both took deep breaths and Tenchi sank to the bottom as Lemon dove under gracefully. She took his hand and led him as he walked along the bottom. They went through a sort of underwater cave and just as Lemon was about to pull Tenchi up, something pulled him away, his hand ripping from hers. A huge clawed hand slashed out at her and she quickly swam to the surface, gasping as she broke the surface.  
  
"TENCHI!!" She dove back under and saw that Tenchi and the big clawed monster had disappeared. She swam back through the passageway and her muffled scream issued out in several bubbles as she saw that Tenchi was struggling to get away from the monster-like creature. Lemon could see that it was like a gigantic lizard, closely resembling a raptor. Its tail thrashed around as Tenchi kicked at him. Lemon was about to attack when Tenchi's foot connected with the creature's jaw. It hissed and let go of him. He sank back to the bottom, completely out of air as the creature fell back. Lemon quickly grabbed him around the middle and swam him up. They both broke the surface and Lemon heaved him up to where there was higher ground. Tenchi gasped and looked up in Lemon's direction.  
  
"Wh-What was it?" he asked in between gasps.  
  
Lemon sighed as she spoke, scared. "I have no idea! Some scary monster! We should get out of-"  
  
But she was cut off by a very loud roar as the creature burst out of the water, bounced off the wall and headed straight for Lemon. It snarled as it opened its jaws wide to attack. Lemon screamed and shut her eyes, waiting for those sharp teeth to sink into her skin.  
  
"Lemon!" She opened her eyes as everything seemed to slow down. Tenchi had realized that the monster was heading for her and had pushed her out the way. The last thing she saw was his face looking panicked and concerned. Then everything went back to normal speed and Tenchi screamed as the creature knocked him back into the wall, its teeth biting into his arm. The stone wall behind him cracked, he had hit it so hard.  
  
Lemon felt a rush of anger run through her. She sprung to her feet and attacked the monster head-on. She yelled as she drew her fists back and then punched as hard as she could, fire surrounding her.  
  
"FIRE PUNCH!!"  
  
The fire ignited on the creature's skin and it screeched and quickly dove back into the water. Tenchi groaned as the creature's knife-like teeth ripped at his arm. He sank down the wall and Lemon rushed to him. She covered him with her own body as the creature jumped out of the water and, in a mad panic, rushed for the computer-like machine. It hissed the name as it turned it on.  
  
"Space transporter!! Fine!! Let him come to me! I'll kill him myself!"  
  
With that, it disappeared in a flash of light.  
  
Lemon looked up. Her palms were pressed against the cracked wall and she realized she was dangerously close to Tenchi. She quickly backed off, blushing furiously. Tenchi winced and reached for his arm but Lemon quickly stopped him.  
  
"No, don't touch it..." She examined it and saw that his whole wrist was mangled and broken, completely ripped up from that monster's teeth. She was about to try to stop the bleeding when Tenchi pulled away from her and started to get up.  
  
"Uh! Tenchi, what're you doing?!" she demanded, getting up as well. Tenchi ignored the searing pain in his arm and when he spoke, his voice seemed to have become much stronger.  
  
"Is the space transporter on?"  
  
Lemon stared, then shakily nodded. Tenchi turned to her and gulped before continuing. "Alright, Sonic will be able to get onto ARK...But he doesn't know about the monster... You go find Rouge and tell her what's happened... I'll go up after him."  
  
"No, you're not! You're bleeding!" countered Lemon. Tenchi paused for a moment, then heaved a sigh. "Oh, I guess you're right. Fine, let's go find Rouge then..." He began to lead her away with his one good arm and she smiled triumphantly. She dove into the water and held out her hands.  
  
"C'mon, I'll help you in!" she called.  
  
Tenchi bowed his head. "I'm sorry, Lemon." She stared in pure horror as he turned and rushed to the space transporter. She jumped out of the water and chased after him. He was so much faster than her!  
  
"TENCHI!" A pillar of light surrounded Tenchi and she pounded her fists against it as if it was a solid wall! She was cut off from Tenchi! Tears began to fall from her eyes as she continued to pound on the light- wall.  
  
"TENCHI!! NO, NO, NO!!! PLEASE!! COME BAAAACK!"  
  
Tenchi listened to her scream and shut his own eyes, hoping to block out the sound. At that moment, the light intensified and something strange happened;  
  
His eyelids were lit up. He opened his eyes and realized things were a lot lighter than usual! He blinked a few times and everything was an odd shade of grey and white. But he was beginning to see! He whirled around and in that split second, their eyes met.  
  
"...Remember me..." he whispered.  
  
The light flashed and, like the monster, Tenchi disappeared. Lemon collapsed to her knees, deeply shaken. He was gone and it was all her fault! She'd never ever see him again! There was no way he could survive with that monster up there! Never in a million years! She rammed her fists into the ground with a scream.  
  
She remembered his eyes, how they had somehow focused on her own. She tried to hold back but soon completely broke down crying. She stayed down there for a long, long time. 


	9. Chapter Eight Mistake

**Disclaimer: Sonic The Hedgehog and all related characters are copyright to SEGA. Lemon the Echidna, Tenchi the Hedgehog and all related characters that don't belong to SEGA belong to me, Zeldafreak-Vikki and my friend, Alyssa the Bat!  
  
First of all, BIG sorry to all you people reading this story! I hate making people wait! I'm the Editor of my school's newspaper and I've been very busy with that! However, now that all of my projects are under control, I can now continue without any worries! Thanks for all the awesome reviews, I'm so glad people like my writing! It brightens my day! And yes, you're in for some answers. I've decided to reveal some identities! And now, Chapter 8!  
  
CHAPTER EIGHT - MISTAKE**  
  
Sonic felt all of his fur stand on end as a terrible feeling took a hold of him. Somewhere, far, far away from him, someone he knew very well was in trouble. He didn't know who this person was, but he had a feeling it was someone very important. He took all of his concentration off of the current situation and focused on the feeling. In that moment, it was as if he was in someone else's shoes. This, he thought, must be the person. He closed his eyes and everything cleared up.  
  
He was floating. All around him, life kept him up. Funny, it made everything look green. He felt dazed and weak. He wasn't dead... but he wasn't exactly alive either. He looked past his own feelings and saw through the person's eyes. Through the terrible color, he could see there was a white blur ahead of them. No, not white - grey. But the color didn't matter at that point because he recognized the blur. It had to be-  
  
"Tenchi!! Lemon! SOMEONE pick up!" raged Rouge as she smashed the phone onto its receiver for the third time. Sonic looked back at her, feeling both angry and relieved that his concentration had been broken. The frustrated bat-girl had been trying to call her house for most of the night but it had been in vain. Lemon, or Tenchi (who could easily find the phone just by listening) had not answered. Knuckles stood by her, worried.  
  
"Weird, it's not like Lemon to run off without any warning..." he mumbled thoughtfully. "Unless she ran off with Tenchi...Oh man, she's so dead if she did!"  
  
"Tenchi's alone."  
  
Knuckles and Rouge both look up to where Sonic was sitting on the window sill, his face as pale as the full moon that was indicating it was already past midnight. Knuckles was about to assault Sonic with a barrage of questions when Tails and Amy both screamed from the basement. The three friends raced down the stairs, Sonic ahead of them.  
  
"Amy?! Tails!" he burst through the open door and stopped, staring. The whole basement had been lit up by the space transporter, which had suddenly come alive. Many lights had turned on and the machine's computer was humming, the green laser screen up. Sonic stepped forward, his eyes wide.  
  
"H-How-?"  
  
Tails came to beside his friend, equally shocked. "Someone must've used another space transporter! Here, let me look it up!" The young kitsune excitedly began typing on the keyboard as if he had been his whole life. Sonic watched in amazement but was torn away as Amy gripped his good arm.  
  
"Sonic, you look really sick. Are you ok?" Sonic looked down into her concerned eyes and gulped. He opened his mouth to reassure her when Tails cut him off.  
  
"Sonic!!" he yelled in total surprise. "Someone used a space transporter at one of ARK's hidden labs! It's about fifty miles away!" Sonic blinked and came up to beside Tails. He looked very puzzled.  
  
"That means someone else just got onto ARK, right?" Tails nodded.  
  
Sonic narrowed his eyes as he looked up at the screen. A white and grey blur was still in his mind, haunting him like an eerie ghost. And the person who had sent him that image. Who had seemed to become one with him... His eyes widened as his sick and tired mind put two and two together. He knew who was on ARK, although he only knew their names.  
  
"Tails, get us up to ARK, Tenchi's in big trouble!"  
  
The space transporter's low, distant humming was ringing in his ears when he awoke. He was lying on his front on a cold and very hard floor. He felt it with his fingertips and noticed something was very different. Something had been taken away from him. His hands felt as if they had gone numb. But that wasn't the case. That sense had simply lowered. And in that moment, everything started to come back to him.  
  
He had used a machine to travel through space to a colony high above the Earth. He recalled that this colony's name was ARK. He remembered how space had been cold and cruel, making him feel like an ice-cube as he had hurtled towards his destination. And he remembered opening his eyes. He had seen the stars. He had seen the colony. And then he had blacked out.  
  
And now he was lying on the floor, doing nothing. His cause came back to him, reminding him that he had to help Sonic. That's right, Sonic, who was in danger of dying. He needed to get up and find a way to help, just as he had thought before.  
  
But to do that, he'd have to open his eyes.  
  
He gulped at the thought. Was he really ready to do that? After three years of being blind, could he really see? But what if he opened his eyes and was still blind? The disappointment alone would kill him. Maybe if he-  
  
"Get up."  
  
His ears perked and he raised his throbbing head, the numbness beginning to wear off. The pain was finally starting to come. He had been expecting it. He managed to sit up on his knees, his back bent. His arm was beginning to hurt and he remembered injuring it. He wished he hadn't.  
  
"I said GET UP!"  
  
He cringed at the voice. It was a very powerful voice, deep and full of sorrow turned into cold strength. On the other hand, his own voice was weak with pain and confusion.  
  
"Who are you?" he asked wearily.  
  
"Why don't you open your eyes and see me?" it replied, with a hint of impatience.  
  
He tried to resist. He tried to shut all of the sounds out-  
  
"NOW!" it screamed.  
  
"Alright, fine!" he yelled back. He held his breath and opened his eyes. He gasped. He could see!  
  
He was kneeling in a big, circular room filled with many different objects. Laboratory. He was in a lab, on the space colony ARK. Everything was unnaturally quiet and the room was dimly lit.  
  
"There, now, that wasn't so hard, was it?" said the voice, its impatience punctured. "Now, what's your name?"  
  
He looked up, blinking furiously. The dim light seemed to be the source of the voice and even that was hurting his eyes. "I-I don't have one..."  
  
The voice chuckled in reply. "You do have a name, you just can't remember it. Fine, tell me what my name is." It was an order, not a request.  
  
He thought for a minute. "Are you...Arashi?"  
  
"Excellent. It seems you haven't forgotten everything. What else do you know?"  
  
He thought again. "I'm...a hedgehog?"  
  
"Well, of course you are! Why don't you take a look at yourself?"  
  
He gulped, then dared to look down. His fur was a very light grey color. Funny, Lemon had always said it was white. But he knew that wasn't right either. He could see the golden rings. Just how he had pictured! His hands were gloved and stained with dirt and something red was smudged onto it here and there. He looked down at his arm and jumped.  
  
His whole arm was bleeding non-stop. A puddle of blood was soaking his knees and turning his fur red. He stared, pained and bewildered. That monster had only bitten his wrist, yet it felt as if his whole arm was cut open!  
  
"Funny, you're starting to look like your old self." the voice said after awhile. "Here, allow me to help."  
  
At those words, the whole lab was lit up. He squinted his eyes as they stung painfully. He managed to see that there was a tank, filled with green liquid. Inside that tank, it was watching him. He slowly got up and limped over to the tank, his legs feeling like jelly.  
  
"Arashi...?" he said, a lump starting in his throat.  
  
Arashi nodded. He was a big hedgehog, bigger than Sonic, with light blue fur and yellow eyes, which were half-closed. There was a black symbol on his chest that was like an X with a line piercing it through the top to the bottom. There was also a black upside down triangle mark on his forehead. His quills were typical for a hedgehog, six quills all going down the back of his head. Little did the nameless hedgehog know that he had met someone else with a similar appearance.  
  
"Yes, I am Arashi," he said, his lips unmoving. He was using telepathy. "I remember you, the one with no emotions. I thought you had died along with Maria."  
  
"Maria?" asked the confused hedgehog. The name was like a sword, stabbing his chest. "Maria...is dead...?"  
  
"That's what I thought... But if you're here, I wonder if she-"  
  
CRASH!  
  
The grey hedgehog screamed as he was hurled back into the wall. The whole tank had been broken and the machinery around it had exploded. Flames licked at the broken glass as Arashi hit the floor, his body useless. Only his tortured mind had survived over the years while his body had been as good as dead. But his senses still worked. And he knew what was coming.  
  
Jigoku stepped past the flames, which did no harm at all to his thick skin. "Nice try, Arashi! But I intend to kill your clone and take his power, then I can be the Ultimate Life Form!"  
  
Arashi's yellow eyes widened. He tried to speak but no voice accompanied his moving lips. He stopped and struggled to stay alive, tapping into his telepathic powers.  
  
Jigoku ignored that skeleton of a hedgehog and looked down at the blind clone. He wrapped his clawed fingers around the hedgehog's neck and lifted him up until his feet were far above the ground. He kept his eyes shut, his teeth clenched.  
  
"Ah!" he groaned, gripping Jigoku's arm and trying to push him off. But he wasn't near as strong as the giant lizard.  
  
Jigoku grinned, his fangs bared. "And now, your powers are mine, clone!"  
  
"C-Clone?" he choked, his strength leaving him. He opened his eyes, curiosity making his fear diminish. "Wh-What're you talking about?"  
  
"You are Arashi's clone! You-..." The raptor-like creature faltered, his eyes focusing in one the hedgehog's eyes.  
  
Red. Not green. Red.  
  
"Jigoku, you fool!," came Arashi's telepathic voice, much weaker than before. "That is not my clone... You can never kill them..."  
  
Jigoku felt goose bumps rising in his skin as he looked back to the hedgehog in horror. When he spoke, he couldn't stop himself from stuttering. "B-But that means-!"  
  
The hedgehog's grip tightened dangerously as his red eyes glowed. His voice alone brought fear and bad memories.  
  
"That's right, you made a mistake, BioLizard! I'm the Shadow!" 


	10. Chapter Nine Pieces of the Puzzle

**Disclaimer: Sonic The Hedgehog and all related characters are copyright to SEGA. Lemon the Echidna, Tenchi the Hedgehog and all related characters that don't belong to SEGA belong to me, Zeldafreak-Vikki and my friend, Alyssa the Bat!  
  
Sorry 'bout the wait (again). Something big's been happening with my family and all that kinda stuff but now that I'm starting to pull myself together, I can forget about all that stress with my writing! I hope this satisfies you readers, I hope you're not disappointed or anything. And thanks to Yersi Fanel for publishing my fic! That was super nice of you! Gracias! :p And this story's gonna get a little bit gory, just a little warning there. Chapter 10 is already half typed out and should be done in a few days.  
  
Also, a little explanation of the names: Tenchi(Japanese): Heaven, Arashi(Japanese): Storm, Neo(Greek): New, Kitsune(Japanese): Fox, Ojiisan(Japanese): Grandpa, Jigoku(Japanese): Hell. Now enjoy, CHAPTER 9!!!  
  
CHAPTER NINE - PIECES OF THE PUZZLE**  
  
Amy yelled as her, Sonic and Tails were hurled out of the space transporter and sent head-first into the cold hard floor. Lucky for her, she landed on top of them. Sonic blushed as he lightly threw her off. Amy landed lightly on her hands and knees and was about to yell, "What's the big idea!" when she realized her foot was touching something solid. She looked back and her green eyes widened.  
  
"AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!" she screamed. She got up and ran to behind Sonic, who had just climbed to his feet. The blue hedgehog looked back to her, puzzled. "Amy, what's-?"  
  
He never finished his question.  
  
Lying before the three friends was an injured hedgehog. His hand was outstretched beside him, as if he had been reaching out to something. The other was lying by his side, his fist clenched. His face was pointed towards them, his yellow eyes unfocused and his mouth still open. It was Arashi.  
  
Sonic gasped and ran to the fallen hedgehog. He feel to his knees and quickly checked for a pulse. Tails came to beside him while Amy stayed where she was, frozen with fear. The fox felt for a heartbeat.  
  
"Wow, he's freezing! His heart's still beating though!"  
  
Sonic glared into Arashi's eyes. "Arashi...? C'mon, answer me..."  
  
While Sonic was mumbling, Tails looked around the room in shock. There was a broken tank at one end of the room, with scorch marks all around it. All of the walls were dented and in one place, even broken in. It was the same with the floor, which was also covered in blood. There had definitely been a fight here.  
  
"Sonic, what's going on?" he asked, his voice quivering.  
  
Sonic shook his head. "That's what I wanna know! HEY!! OLD GUY!!"  
  
At that, Arashi's eyes widened and focused in on Sonic. His mouth closed as he swallowed and the hand Sonic was still holding shivered. Using his telepathic voice, Arashi said, "There you are..."  
  
Sonic blinked a few times in confusion. Was he dreaming or was this seriously happening?!  
  
Arashi, noticing Sonic's confusion, tried to make his telepathic voice as strong as he could. "I know you don't understand any of this, but we'll have to leave the questions for later. Now is the time to act. I know you have the poison running through your veins and you will die soon. We must prevent this."  
  
Amy growled and came up behind Tails, her arms crossed. "Well, of course we have to prevent it, you old fogey! Quit statin' the obvious and tell us where that antidote it!" Tails cringed at her anger but Sonic ignored her, blushing a little.  
  
"Wh-Where is it?" he asked, his voice faltering. He was starting to feel a little dizzy.  
  
Arashi's telepathic voice continued. "You will find the ingredients and instructions in the back area of Laboratory Number Three. You must hurry, two projects are battling and one will die if we do not interfere soon..."  
  
Tails's ears twitched in recognition. "Projects? You mean like the Ultimate Life Form?!"  
  
Sonic looked to the kitsune in amazement. He should've known the kid would know something of it.  
  
"I'll explain once I remember. C'mon, Tails. Arashi, we'll come back for you!" With that, the three of them left. Arashi watched them go and his heart sank deeper.  
  
"Don't die, Neo."  
  
The old man known as Matt Haruna adjusted his glasses as he watched his computer screen. Displayed there was a digital map of Space Colony ARK. Three little dots were headed for Laboratory Number Three but only one was colored green while the other two were blue. Green meant that the life form had characteristics matching those found in projects originally from ARK. The blue dots were simply outsiders. On the other side of the colony, moving very fast, were two green dots battling each other. Matt could tell the smaller one was losing. Back near the space transporter, a green dot which was Arashi was kneeling before a computer in the space transporter room. Matt guessed he was on the same system, watching the same map. It had been years since he had seen or heard from any of the projects6 and the very thought of talking to them made his heart beat two times faster. He gulped and pressed the button to open up the communications link.  
  
Up on ARK, Arashi gasped as he noticed the computer was beeping. Five seconds later, the beeping stopped and a voice came through. The tired hedgehog cringed at the sound; it was an old human, the kind he was afraid of.  
  
"Arashi? Arashi, is that you?!"  
  
Arashi paused, then forced himself to speak out loud, something he seldom did. "Who is there?"  
  
"My God... It's Matt. Matt Haruna. I don't know if you remember m-"  
  
"I remember you," cut in Arashi. "You want to know what's going on, right?"  
  
Matt grinned. "You may be half-dead, but you're still clever, aren't you? Yeah, I want to know what's going on up there."  
  
Arashi didn't smile. "Project Shadow, the clone, Jigoku and myself are all here. Something is wrong with Shadow though. He's only beginning to remember who he is and I'm afraid he won't last long against Jigoku."  
  
Matt leaned back in his chair, his brow furrowed. "So, the little guy and Jigoku are fighting. What's the clone doing there? He's not remembering, is he?"  
  
"He has been poisoned. He is simply here to retreive the antidote. He does not remember everything yet."  
  
Matt sighed with relief. "Well, that's good. Let's hope he gets that antidote in time. We can't have one of the projects dying."  
  
With that, Matt shut off the communication. He knew Arashi couldn't care less, as he was lacking the emotion to care. He continued to watch the map as a young blonde woman with sapphire eyes walked in.  
  
"Who were you talking to?" she asked, her voice strong yet sweet.  
  
"Arashi. Four of the projects are on the ARK."  
  
The girl frowned. "Only four, huh? I guess I'll have to pay the others a visit." A great sadness took her in that moment as she thought of the consequences of interfering.  
  
'Forgive me, Shadow. You'll have to wait a little longer before seeing me again.'  
  
Sonic groaned as the sickness began to take him again. Amy was leaning him back against the wall and whispering words of comfort to him. He was thankful that she was there. Usually he found her annoying but at times like these, she was really nice to have around. At the same time, Amy's mind was full of worry, even though she hid how she felt. Standing a little ways from the two of them, Tails was standing at an ancient computer.  
  
The little genius looked up, one of his ears bent with frustration.  
  
"What the heck is this supposed to mean!"  
  
Amy walked to him. "What's up?" she asked, too scared to go into hysterics.  
  
"The list of ingredients is here and I pulled them out while I was reading through it... but it's missing something! And all that it has about that last ingredient is a riddle! So the antidote I have now is useless!"  
  
Sonic wasn't even listening. His conciousness was beginning to waver. He realized he had indeed heard about that riddle before. But that was a long, long time ago. Even so, he still remembered how it went. And he knew the answer, of course. Maybe he should say something... Coming out of these numb thoughts, Sonic tried to speak but found that he could barely move! But that meant-that meant-...  
  
His time was up. It was then that his heart stopped. He clenched his teeth as he struggled to fight it. But dark water was beggining to rise up around him. It was so cold, his body became too frozen to fight back. He opened his mouth just as it engulfed the last of him. "Amy..."  
  
Amy looked back in time to see Sonic pass out and ran to him, panicked. "Oh! Tails! Hurry! Sonic just blacked out!"  
  
Tails tried not to look back at his fallen friend. He'd be much too distracted if he did. He read the riddle out loud, trying to understand it.  
  
"The final ingredient which you seek, Comes from a project that reached its peak, It runs through a stream, just like a fish, And you may extract it if you wish.  
  
This project, its mind is said to be pure, Although it may seem as black as his fur, Once he was lost, but now he is whole, He is awake in both mind and soul, Remember this riddle, for it may reply, To the question if you live or die."  
  
"Black as his fur?" repeated Amy, from where she was with Sonic. "Didn't Sha-"  
  
She was cut off as one of the metal doors slammed open. A grey hedgehog ran in, turned around with astonishing speed and shut the door, locking it and gasping for air. Tails watched in wonder as the hedgehog hurried towards them and the kitsune's heart missed a few beats as he realized the hedgehog's right arm was bleeding without stop. He came to Tails, a crimson trail as dark as his eyes left behind him.  
  
"T-Tails," he gasped, his voice very low and calm. "You guys need to get out of here right now!"  
  
Tails shook his head stubbornly, fighting back the urge to cry. "I need to get Sonic the antidote but I need one more ingredient! We can't leave yet!"  
  
The hedgehog paused, glancing towards Sonic and Amy. "The...antidote..."  
  
Reminding Tails of a child trying to remember a spelling word in school, the pale hedgehog inched towards the computer. After looking at it for a few seconds, he hurriedly grabbed the antidote and held his open arm over it, letting some of the blood drip down into it. Tails watched curiously.  
  
"Uh... Wh-What're you doing?" he asked timidly.  
  
The hedgehog kept his eyes on the bottle of liquid and his arm as he spoke. "This should work. Once he wakes up, get outta here."  
  
Tails stared as the hedgehog handed the antidote to him, speechless. His mind had just had the craziest idea of this hedgehog's identity... He chose his words carefully, then spoke in a somewhat cheerful voice. "Thanks, Tenchi! This'll help alot!"  
  
"You're welcome," replied the hedgehog politely. Then he stopped dead, realizing the kitsune had just tricked him into giving himself away. "Uh...I mean..."  
  
"Ha! I knew it!! Tenchi, you're Shadow, aren't you?" said the fox- boy triumphantly.  
  
Shadow stared in shock. How did this kid know him? And how did he know so much?! Argh, if only he could remember!  
  
His thoughts were cut-off when they heard something smash into the door, attempting to break it open. Shadow stared wide-eyed, a sense of foreboding making his flesh crawl.  
  
"Jigoku!" He turned back to Tails urgently. "We can talk later, kid! Help Sonic and then get yourselves away from here!"  
  
Tails gulped, his whole body tensed up. "Right!" He ran back to Sonic and Amy while Shadow charged at the door. He may not have remembered meeting them but deep down, Shadow knew he had to protect his friends. 


	11. Chapter Ten Live Or Die

**Disclaimer: Sonic The Hedgehog and all related characters are copyright to SEGA. Lemon the Echidna, Tenchi the Hedgehog and all related characters that don't belong to SEGA belong to me, Zeldafreak-Vikki and my friend, Alyssa the Bat!  
  
Like I said, this story gets a bit gory. That's what happens when you watch too much anime, then write a fanfic, I guess. And if you're wondering, all of my stories have happy endings. Just... keep teling yourself that as you read this chapter. But there's always a part where it gets a little bleak. Eheh, yeah... Anywho, we're pretty close to the end of Part 1! Me excited! Part 2, if you're wondering, is simply going to be continuing after this sequence, going a year or so into the future, to shed somemore light on the ARK and the Ultimate Life Form. But enough of that, on with Chapter 10!  
  
P.S.: I LOVED THE REVIEWS!!! THANK-YOU-THANK-YOU-THANK-YOU!!!  
  
CHAPTER TEN - LIVE OR DIE**  
  
Sonic gasped as he broke the surface of the dark water, free of it. It took him a few seconds before he realized what and where he was. ARK. Lab Three. Oh yeah... He sat up, blinking and catching his breath. But it was knocked out of him again by the force of Amy hugging him.  
  
"Oh! Sonic, you're alive!! I was so scared I'd never get to hear your beautiful voice again!!" she cried. Sonic gulped and tried to get out of her reach. Tails grinned and helped Sonic get up, Amy stepping back, sniffling with joy. Sonic blinked a few times, trying to clear his head, then spoke, his voice a little shaky at first.  
  
"T-Tails, what happened?!" he asked, too surprised to stay calm.  
  
Tails grinned, a few tears beginning to cloud his vision. "You passed out. I thought you were toast for sure! But Shadow got the last ingredient of the antidote and it woke you up!"  
  
Both Sonic and Amy stared. Sonic shook his head, thinking he had misheard. "I'm sorry, buddy, I don't think I heard ya right. 'Sounded like you said Shadow helped us!"  
  
Tails grinned. "He did!"  
  
"HUH?!" Amy's eyes widened. "Y-Y'mean that Tenchi guy was Shadow this whole time?!"  
  
Tails nodded. "I don't think he totally remembers but he's starting to look like himself. But there's no more time, he's fighting some big thing and he wanted us to get outta here!"  
  
"Big thing?" repeated Sonic, raising an eyeridge. "If he's fighting, shouldn't we help him?"  
  
Tails began to feel more fear rising up inside him at the very thought of staying. "But Shadow wanted us to leave!"  
  
Sonic began to get anxious. "Yeah, but Tails, do you think he can hold off that monster?"  
  
Tails paused. An uneasy feeling had gripped him. Shadow was hurt and that lizard - whatever it was - was bigger and stronger than him. Finally, the kitsune sighed. "No."  
  
Sonic didn't let anything hold him back. "Alright then! You two head back to the space transporter! I've got to find Shadow!"  
  
Amy cried out to him in dismay, causing him to stop. She rushed to him and grabbed him roughly by the shoulders. "Sonic, no! Don't you even think about going near that thing! I saw it earlier when Shadow led it away, it's like that BioLizard thingy you guys fought before! I can't let you risk your life again! Please!"  
  
Sonic blushed, seeing that Amy was near tears. He gulped. "W- Well..." He paused, deeply conflicted. Finally, his tired body convinced his mind he was in no condition to fight. He nodded solemnly and as fast as they could go, the three of them headed down the dark hallways of the space colony ARK back towards the space transporter.  
  
While they rushed along, Tails activated his communication watch and talked into it. "Rouge! Mission accomplished, Sonic's been cured! We're headed back to the space transporter!"  
  
On the other line, Rouge smiled, relieved her friends were still alright. She pushed a button and spoke, "Good job, Tails! We'll be waiting for you!"  
  
Knuckles and Tank, however, weren't so cheerful. "It's not over yet, Rouge. That roaring from before can't have been good. Whatever made that noise is still up there," said Knuckles, his arms crossed. Tank nodded in agreement.  
  
Rouge watched them and felt a chill run down her back. She folded her wings and turned back to the communication system, deep in thought.  
  
Back when she had been working undercover for the government, trying to find out about Shadow, she had stumbled onto informaiton about the BioLizard. She had read up about Project: Jigoku and had even heard sound samples of his roar. And if she understood correctly, there was a high chance that raptor was alive and out for revenge.  
  
"RAAAAOOOORRRRR!!!"  
  
The three of them jumped as the horrible roar filled the basement. Rouge grumbled as she listened to Amy yell in alarm.  
  
"I hate it when I'm right."  
  
Jigoku's yellow eyes narrowed as he aimed to kill those three rodents. He roared as loud as he could, stunning them. However, he failed to notice Arashi's clone standing there.  
  
Sonic rushed forward to meet Jigoku's attack. Jigoku swung his claws down and Sonic dodged it and watched the claws pierce the metal floor as he sailed through the air. He tried to land on his feet but the weakened hedgehog's legs were about as strong as a five year-old's at that point. So he stumbled and landed on his back, cursing.  
  
At the same time, Jigoku was wrenching his claws out of the floor.  
  
"Oh no, Sonic!" yelled Amy, trying to run forward. But Tails held her back with all of his might. Maybe it was the right thing to do or maybe it wasn't. But if Sonic was in trouble, he had the feeling that neither him nor Amy could help him against that giant lizard.  
  
But another hedgehog could.  
  
"HEY!! JIGOKU!!"  
  
Jigoku's head whipped up and he glared around behind him. Standing there, glaring right back, was Shadow. Sonic stared as he stiffly got to his feet. Jigoku roared out and lunged for the now dark grey hedgehog, who responded by jumping up and away from danger. Jigoku jumped up after him with a growl of frustration and their everlasting battle continued. Sonic stared at what Tenchi had become.  
  
His fur had darkened considerably since the last time he had seen him. His eyes were no longer filled with mist but gleaming dangerously, a fire sparking up in them. Before, Tenchi's quills had hung down around his face. Now, they were whipped back. Shadow had probably had a nice little race against Jigoku, who could run almost as fast as a cheetah. But that wasn't fast enough. Especially now that Shadow could see. Sonic reminded himself to ask about that later.  
  
Tails began to run back down the hallway, hoping to make it to the space transporter. Amy yelled after him but all that did was get Jigoku's attention. He braked, screeching across the floor, then sped after the running fox-boy. Both Shadow and Sonic's hearts fluttered in panic and began to run after them, Sonic pulling Amy along.  
  
Tails looked back in time to see the giant monster coming down on him. He yelled and propelled his tails in panic. He went speeding forward and Jigoku's sword-like claws just missed him. Tails gasped as he came to the room where they had first appeared. The space transporter was shut down! It must've turned off after being left on for too long!  
  
Jigoku cackled maniacally as he pounced at Tails. The poor little kistune screamed and cringed, waiting for those big claws to impale his little body. Luckily, Shadow anticipated the move and interfered, throwing himself against Jigoku and veering him off course. They both crashed into the mapping computer, completely destroying it. On Earth, Matt Haruna cursed as he was cut off. Sonic rushed to Tails, who was still cringing.  
  
"Tails! Hey, buddy! It's ok!"  
  
Tails gulped and looked up shakily. Sonic was gripping him by the shoulder. "Tails, you've got to get that space transporter going or we're all dead! I'll cover you, ok?"  
  
Tails nodded slowly and quickly went to work. Amy and Sonic stood on either side of him, just in case Jigoku tried to attack again. But they were put at ease as Shadow sent Jigoku through the metal wall, landing in a bunch of machinery. The hedgehog landed on his feet and stood ready, in case his rival tried to get up again. But he didn't. Once he realized that he had finally won, he let himself collapse to his knees, hunched over as he caught his breath. Sonic came to him, concerned as a pool of blood started around his arm.  
  
"Sh-Shadow?" he asked, scared. He may have missed him, but Sonic still found Shadow a big threat.  
  
Shadow looked up. "Sonic... You're alright..."  
  
Sonic was about to reply with a grin when Tails and Amy cheered as the space transporter lit up. Sonic looked back at them and quickly ran over. "Alright, Tails! Now we can get outta here!"  
  
Since the space transporter was so low on energy, they decided to transport only one person at a time. Tails stepped in first. He smiled and waved. "See you there!" With that, he disappeared back to Earth.  
  
Sonic looked down at his little communicator, which he was still wearing. "Hey, Tails, you make it back ok?"  
  
Tails came up on the other line. "Yup! C'mon back, guys! Rouge is freaking out!"  
  
Sonic smiled to Amy. "You can go next," he said. While he spoke, Shadow inched towards them, unnoticed.  
  
Amy blushed. "I'm glad you're ok, Sonic," she said, her eyes twinkling emotionally. "I got really scared for you."  
  
Sonic felt his face go a little red and he gulped, looking away. "Uh... I-I'm fine... Thanks..."  
  
Amy smiled and stepped lightly into the transporter. Sonic stepped back to watch her go. Shadow, who didn't care much for girls, looked back towards the pile of debris Jigoku had been knocked into. A second later, he wished he hadn't.  
  
With a shudder and a roar, Jigoku burst from the mess, pieces of computers and metal shards tossed aside. Amy saw him just before she disappeared. He stood there, his green skin cut in places, blue blood flowing from them lightly. He snarled as he gripped a very big piece of metal, almost as big as a human, and lifted it up over his head. Shadow's eyes widened and all of his fur stood on end as Jigoku threw it directly at them.  
  
"LOOK OUT!!!" He whirled around and knocked Sonic out of the way, knowing he was still weak from the X Viper. Sonic yelled in surprise as he was yet again knocked to the ground. He watched in horror as Shadow was hit right in the back and sent right past him with such a force, Sonic could feel the air being blown past him. He looked away as Shadow hit a tank and he saw flecks of blood splatter the ground around him. He felt his face turn pale, already knowing without looking what had happened to his friend. No, not his friend.  
  
His brother.  
  
Sonic stood up, a great anger surfacing from deep within him. He clenched his teeth and his fists, shaking with fury. Jigoku chuckled as he stepped back into the room, flexing his claws.  
  
"You hedgehogs are all the same! Your dumb emotions cloud your vision of power and you waste your pathetic little lives worrying about others!" He bared his teeth in an atrocious smile, poison dripping from his fangs. "Now stupid little Shadow's gotten himself killed. Do you want to join him?"  
  
Sonic felt his quills rise up as his anger fueled him with an uncontrollable power. He stood ready as a light blue aura surrounded his body and made him go numb; he no longer had to feel the pain of fatigue or sadness. It was all rage now. And he didn't even try to stop it as Jigoku attacked.  
  
Through the communicator, Rouge, Tank and Knuckles could hear all that was going on. Rouge was devastated. Someone she had been caring for for three years was dead. How could this be a happy ending? She was about to talk to Sonic when their radio channel was switched and a horrible voice crackled through.  
  
"BOY!! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU! THE ISLAND'S MOVING IN HALF AN HOUR! GET YOU AND YOUR SISTER BACK HERE NOW!!"  
  
Knuckles froze, his eyes wide. "Oh shoot..."  
  
Rouge looked to him, still in tears. "Wh-Who was that?"  
  
Knuckles chuckled nervously, Tails and Amy watching him. "My grandpa, I forgot I'm supposed to leave tonight!" He became abruptly serious, taking Rouge close to him. "I'll be gone for awhile but I promise I'll come back, alright?"  
  
Rouge looked up to him and nodded, sniffling. Without anything else to say, the echidna and bat shared one final kiss. Then Knuckles pulled away, and as he passed by Tails, he mumbled, "Watch her."  
  
Then he was gone out the door, gliding away in search for his sister, leaving Rouge in tears.  
  
It didn't take Knuckles long to find Lemon, who had finally wandered out from the cave, her heart in pieces. She had cried to the point where no more tears could fall and she was left silent as the dead. Knuckles ran to her and was about to yell at her for running away when he noticed the sorrow buried deep within her eyes.  
  
"What happened?" he asked, deeply concerned.  
  
Lemon sniffled. "Where's Tenchi? Please tell me you heard from him!"  
  
Knuckles hesitated, then bowed his head, his quills being lightly blown in the wind. "He's dead."  
  
A deafening silence followed his words. Lemon simply stared at him, her face very white. When Knuckles didn't hear a reply, he cleared his throat and continued. "Look, Pop called, we gotta get going before we're left behind."  
  
Lemon's lip trembled, but she nodded. Knuckles sighed and put an arm around her. "C'mon, sis."  
  
For the rest of the night, Lemon spoke to no one. Not even to her grandfather Athair. She simply went up to her room and lay on her bed as her mind screamed in anguish.  
  
**Author's Note: Don't worry! This isn't the end! Well, ok, yeah, it's the end of Chapter 10, but our story's not through yet! Let's recap here. pulls down on a drawing board where doodles have been sketched out of each different scene Currently, Sonic is facing Jigoku in a mad rage over Shadow's death. Shadow's corpse is half-buried in a tank, impaled with glass. ahem Charming. Meanwhile, Rouge, Tank, Tails and Amy are listening on the communicator to what's going on. Then Knuckles and Lemon are on the Floating Island as it moves away for a year, as was mentionned by Lemon a few chapters ago. Also, let's not forget old man Matt Haruna and that mysterious blonde woman. THEY'LL BE BACK! gasp So, CHAOS is happening and should be ended in Chapter 11, which is already being drafted because it's becoming to dang exciting to write! Woo-hoo! So, see ya in a few days with the conclusion to this crazy story!**


	12. Chapter Eleven Awakening

Disclaimer: Sonic The Hedgehog and all related characters are copyright to SEGA. Lemon the Echidna, Tenchi the Hedgehog and all related characters that don't belong to SEGA belong to me, Zeldafreak-Vikki and my friend, Alyssa the Bat!  
  
clicks on e-mails, sees all of the reviews for the last chapter OO;; Oh...My...GOD!! faints I swear, I was ready to faint when I saw all of the positive feedback on my story! Not even one flame!! I can't believe it! I'm in total awe. So I must say... THANK YOUUUUU!!!!!! I feel so HAPPY!! I'm continuing as long as you guys keep askin' for it!!! WOOHOO!! breathes Anyway, this is the last chapter of Part 1. Part 2 is simply a time later, not a big deal, so NO WAY is it ending!  
  
CHAPTER ELEVEN - AWAKENING  
  
Sonic felt a pounding in his ears as he struggled to dodge Jigoku's heart-stopping attacks. If he paused even for a second, he'd find himself in pieces. Jigoku screamed in frustration, wishing this stupid clone would give up!  
  
"ARRRGH!!! STAND STILL AND LET ME KILL YOU!!"  
  
Jigoku's wretched voice echoed throughout the room and the sound waves reached another hedgehog's ears. Arashi's ears twitched and flickered as the sound penetrated them and sent a message to is brain, which was beginning to work again. He groaned as he began to pull himself up, leaning against a smashed up tank. He blinked, realizing there was blood on his face. Funny, he didn't remember any blood...  
  
He looked over and all of his questions were answered. Shadow was lying in the remains of the tank, his limbs all cut open. Arashi stood up straight as his hearing returned. He saw that Sonic and Jigoku were fighting and Sonic was tiring fast. Soon enough, Jigoku would hit him. And only one hit would suffice.  
  
Arashi's yellow eyes deepened as he analyzed the situation. He did not know how his body had been restored, nor why his usually confused thoughts had suddenly organized themselves. But he did know that nothing could stop him now.  
  
He couldn't help but grin craftily as he closed his eyes and let his mind powers take over.  
  
Jigoku was the first to notice that something was happening. He paused as a light bulb above him burst into pieces. Sonic jumped away from Jigoku, not wanting to be anywhere near him, and the two adversaries stared around wildly as all of the electrical instruments in the room overloaded and burst in a shower of sparks. Once everything had been broken, the room was temporarily pitch black until a light blue glow illuminated the three figures in the room. Arashi chuckled as he dissolved into small light blue particles, which whirled up into the air and began to spin faster and faster.  
  
Sonic stared, his green eyes lit up in the dim light.  
  
"What's going on!" he yelled over the noise of Arashi's laughing. For the first time, Jigoku looked scared.  
  
"Oh no..." he murmured.  
  
And that's when Arashi's spirit entered Shadow's body. Every single particle went speeding into his chest like bullets aiming for his heart. Shadow, who had already lost the will to live, cried out as his soul was taken prisoner by the older hedgehog. Both Sonic and Jigoku watched fearfully as the now pocessed Shadow stood up, his eyes still closed.  
  
Jigoku growled, but he was shaking from head to clawed toe. Sonic slowly stepped forward, making sure not to make any sudden movements. In a soft voice, he broke the eerie silence. "Shadow?"  
  
Shadow grinned, identical to Arashi and Sonic, and his eyes opened. Sonic stared, seeing that they were glowing yellow. He looked right at Sonic, his deadly gaze seeming to pierce the blue hedgehog. He then chuckled as he began to stiffly walk forward, all of the Chaotic power of two ARK projects weighing him down. When he spoke, it was Arashi's sorrowful tone mixed in with Shadow's broken voice. It was enough to make anyone's heart sink.  
  
"No, Neo. Shadow's still asleep. Don't worry, he'll wake up soon enough."  
  
Neo? Sonic watched, confused, as Arashi-Shadow walked right past him towards Jigoku. The lizard snarled as he extended his claws to their full length.  
  
"I don't understand! Fifty years ago, you were both nothing more than emotionless rodents... Failed experiments!" he hissed, sweat beginning to run down his sharp face. Arashi bared his teeth in a horrible grin.  
  
"And fifty years ago, you were a big ugly prototype," he retorted nastily. "We all changed. Most of us changed for the better, which is what the professor wanted... Except for you and that troublemaker..."  
  
Troublemaker. Somehow, Sonic knew just who Arashi was talking about. In his mind, amidst the thousands of questions bouncing around, there was an image forming like a scattered puzzle. He remembered that dream he had had in Tank's Jeep. It was that echidna who had punched him. But this time, he could see it a bit more clearly. It was a male, his fur pitch black and his eyes a dangerous yellow. Sonic could see that his knuckles were almost like claws, much sharper thank Knuckles'. And it scared him.  
  
Jigoku seemed to feel the same way. "That 'troublemaker' you speak of is locked up. There's no reason to mention him, hedgehog..."  
  
"Oh," said Arashi almost mockingly. "But so were you. And look what happened."  
  
Sonic's quick reflexes allowed him to notice Jigoku's eye twitch a second before he threw himself right at his new opponent. He slashed with his claws with such a force that Sonic felt a hot rush of air run through his quills. It even sent the attacker off balance. He had used up all of his energy for that one attack. The angry reptile looked to see where he had slashed and cried out in pure frustration. Arashi had side-stepped it! He now glared as Jigoku began to step back shakily, out of attacks.  
  
"Neo," he said, his eyes still on Jigoku. "I need a Chaos Emerald."  
  
Sonic blinked, then realized he was being spoken to. He remembered the night this had all began and over his shoulder to under his right shoulder quill, where he had hidden the Chaos Emerald that had been like a magnet for those Viper darts. He tossed it to Arashi, who used Shadow's hand to catch it. Immediately, the Chaos Emerald's inner glow seemed to intensify as Arashi activated its real power.  
  
Jigoku began to shake his scaly head.  
  
"No! You can't!"  
  
Arashi and Shadow chuckled as he lifted the Chaos Emerald one-handed over his head, the light almost blinding the other projects.  
  
"Yes I can."  
  
And with that, an almost electrical current flowed from the Chaos Emerald and, much like water, began to surround him. Jigoku tried to slash at it but all that did was make it go faster. When it was up to his long neck, his eyes met Arashi's.  
  
"You haven't seen the last of me, rodents!"  
  
Arashi's eyes narrowed. "Give it a rest!"  
  
And with that, Jigoku disappeared into thin air.  
  
Sonic let himself fall to his knees, his whole body aching. The little blue particles exited Shadow's chest until Arashi was standing as himself again. The black hedgehog, now back in posession of his own body, collapsed to the ground, his arms, legs and head split open and still bleeding. Sonic quickly rushed over to him.  
  
"Hey! Shadow, can you hear me?!"  
  
Shadow opened his eyes, which had returned to normal. He nodded wearily. Sonic leaned over him, examining his wounds.  
  
"Wait," he said. "These look like those red streaks I saw on you before!"  
  
Shadow nodded, his eyes half-closed. "Scars," he said hoarsely. Sonic stared as the image of the echidna flashed through his memory.  
  
"Hm," he replied, almost smiling. "I forgot that."  
  
"There are many things you have forgotten," said Arashi, who was standing behind him. Sonic looked up at him, frowning.  
  
"Enlighten me, why dont'cha!"  
  
Still listening through Sonic's communicator watch, Amy, Tails, Rouge and Tank listened with awe and shock as Sonic's past was revealed to them by Arashi.  
  
Fifty years earlier, Professor Gerald Robotnik had created six different projects. Each one was unique, each with their own power. They had been created with a special type of DNA pattern from an ancient furry race, called the Hatians. Each Hatian could have only two different emotions. The rest had to be learned. Arashi the Hedgehog's Hatian cells allowed him only two emotions: sadness and hatred.  
  
With no sense of freedom, Arashi basically lived in the tank in the laboratory for almost a whole year until Shadow was created. But Shadow's DNA pattern was even worse. He didn't have any emotion at all. Shortly after Shadow was created, Arashi was killed by another project. He never said the name, too afraid to speak it, but Sonic had the feeling it was the work of that echidna from his nightmare.  
  
And Arashi went on to explain that even if his body was dead, his mind was still alive. He had watched as Gerald and his colleagues had created a new DNA pattern and had rebuilt Shadow so that he was older and with actual emotion. Although Shadow was still very closed off, he would actually speak and, after befriending Maria, learn. After that "transformation", the professor had gone even farther and combined Arashi's DNA qualities with other sorts of Hatian cells, which resulted in a clone, codenamed Neo.  
  
Known today as Sonic the Hedgehog.  
  
Sonic stared as Arashi finished his explanation. Shadow lay behind him, only half-listening. The two of them were plunged into a deep silence as their brains processed all of the information. Now Sonic knew where he had come from. And Shadow... he remembered who he was.  
  
Over the intercom, Tails grinned.  
  
"I knew it!"  
  
After the three hedgehogs were Chaos Controlled back to Tank's basement, Rouge immediately began to fuss over Shadow, who simply rolled his eyes and let himself be taken back to the infirmary, the last place he wanted to end up. Oh well.  
  
As for Arashi, he accepted Sonic's offer and moved in with them in the city. Over time, the old hedgehog became accustomed to the ways of the present and Sonic began to regard him as a father-figure, which was almost accurate. He even called him "Dad". Amy continued to follow Sonic around until he finally agreed to let her move in with him. Now all he had to do was somehow confront her and tell her how he felt. But that wasn't going to be easy.  
  
Tails decided to move in with the fishermen who had saved Shadow. And, more specifically, he wanted to get to know Vixy better, as they both had alot in common. And him and Tank could work somemore on robotics. Sonic was happy to see his little buddy take his own path for once, even though he had to admit he missed him.  
  
As for Shadow himself, once his scars healed up, he finally left Rouge's infirmary and moved in with Sonic, Arashi and Amy. And even though he was back to normal, and Sonic and Amy tried over and over to get him to open up, Shadow remained distant except for the occasional fight with Sonic.  
  
It was as if half of his heart was missing. No, all of it. He felt as if he'd never be happy again until that island - and the person whom he wanted to see the most - came back. But he knew at the same time, that would probably never happen.  
  
Author's Note: Alrighty, that's the end of Part 1!!!! YAY!!! Part 2 will take place a year later, which is gonna be fun to write, let me tell ya! I'll try to be quick with the first chapter of that. Until then, see ya! 


	13. Part 2 Chapter Twelve Rainy Sunday

**Disclaimer: Sonic The Hedgehog and all related characters are copyright to SEGA. Athair the Echidna was originally copyright to Sonic Archie Comics and Sonic Underground. I changed him alot, but they still get credit. Lemon the Echidna, Tenchi the Hedgehog and all related characters that don't belong to SEGA belong to me, Zeldafreak-Vikki and my friend, Alyssa the Bat!  
  
Well, I hit my goal of 60 reviews! I never even dreamed of getting this far so I've got to thank you all! This next part is where you'll find out even more about the six projects as somemore appear in our midst, starting with the "troublemaker". And there's gonna be some comedy mixed in with the suspense to lighten things up before they get scary. So enjoy!  
  
PART 2 - ONE YEAR LATER...  
  
CHAPTER TWELVE - RAINY SUNDAY**  
  
She smiled as his eyes focused in on her. It was one of those rare moments that seemed to warm up her cold heart. She always wondered if he was actually seeing her or was it just coincidence?  
  
She approached him shyly, not sure how to let him know she was there. Should she tap him on the shoulder? Or maybe touch his arm? Perhaps even say his name, but she was so nervous, she knew she couldn't talk without sounding stupid.  
  
"It's alright."  
  
She looked up and realized that he was smiling, his eyes focused right on her. He was looking right at her! She could feel her heart beating in her chest as he lightly touched her chin so that she was looking up at him. She smiled and blushed as she leaned in closer to him... and closer...  
  
"LEMON!!!!"  
  
Lemon's eyes snapped open and she saw two green eyes glaring into hers. She gasped and sat up straight. She was sitting in a bar, behind the counter. She must've fallen asleep while cleaning the last of the dirty glasses for the night. Most of the echidnas had left and now Knuckles was sitting in the corner while their grandfather, Athair, was sitting right in front of her. His strict and heavily accented voice woke her up even more than his stern look.  
  
"Woman, will you quit slackin' off!" he yelled on his lowest volume possible.  
  
Lemon scowled at him. "Oh, Pop, it's not like I do it every night!"  
  
"But you do," he retorted. "Every night, you sit there and get this funny look!"  
  
Knuckles chuckled as he set his glass on the table he sat at. "That's because she's thinking of her boyfriend, Pop," he said.  
  
Lemon bared her fangs and clenched her fists. "Why you stupid-" she began. But Athair cut her off.  
  
"What boyfriend?!" he demanded. "My granddaughter has a boyfriend?! WHO?!"  
  
Lemon rolled her eyes. Knuckles kept that smirk on his face as he continued to embarrass his sister.  
  
"It's a hedgehog."  
  
At this, Athair's eyes became even wider behind his glasses. There had always been a strong prejudice between the hedgehogs and the echidnas. Since Athair was over a hundred years-old, he had lived during the wars and wished he could still kill hedgehogs. But it had been a law for years to stop the killing, much to the old echidna's dismay.  
  
Lemon sighed. "Relax, Pop, I haven't seen him for monthes now. And Knuckles said..." She stopped, unable to finish. At this, Knuckles' smirk disappeared. He looked over guiltily at his sister, wishing he hadn't been the one to tell her the bad news.  
  
"Lemon, I-" he began. But Lemon turned away.  
  
"I'm going to bed."  
  
The two guys watched silently as Lemon walked up the stairs and shut the door with such a force, several glasses fell and shattered. Athair glared back at Knuckles, who cringed.  
  
"Boy, why did you not tell me about this," he asked in a severe tone. Knuckles gulped as his grumpy grandfather sat down across from him.  
  
"W-Well, the guy got killed the night the island moved, I figured it didn't matter!"  
  
"There is no excuse," he snapped, silencing Knuckles. "A hedgehog! Heh! Good thing he's dead or I would've killed him!"

The little slides in the old clock radio turned to display 9:00AM as the radio came on.  
  
"And it's now nine 'o clock in the morning here in Station Square! As usual, most businesses have opened in the last hour and the kids are out already enjoying their summer vacation! Tell us, Bill, how's the weather?"  
  
The weatherman, Bill, chuckled before speaking. "Well, it's a bit chilly after that downfall last night, which is still going on! We expect this rain to continue on 'til the afternoon so dress warm, kids, it's cold!"  
  
A black and red fist came down on the radio, instantly shutting it off.  
  
"Cold... Don't need the radio to tell me that," grumbled Shadow as he sleepily poked his head out from under his covers. He was living in a small apartment, only a block away from the other hedgehogs. He liked living on his own, in a small neighboorhood where it was nice and quiet. This way, he could spend a few hours every morning in silence, just the way he wanted.  
  
He sat up, rubbing the sleep out of eyes. His quills were slightly bent and his blankets were a mess. Another nightmare. He sighed as he got up and started making his bed. Then he went over to the only window in his small room and opened it. Immediately, the calm sound of rain filled his ears. He allowed himself a small smile as he left his room into the main part of the apartment. There was another window which he had left open the night before. He went over and closed it, seeing that the rain had made the hardwood floor wet. He waved his hand at it and it immediately vanished. He went along past the only two pieces of furniture he owned, an old cusion chair and a beaten up couch he'd found at a garage sale, into the tiny kitchen, where he made himself some toast. He didn't feel like eating much this morning, his mind preoccupied on his nightmare.  
  
Nightmares were a usual thing for people like him. That was the small price to pay for having such powerful Chaos spells at his disposal. He had them almost weekly, and lately, they had all been the same. A black echidna, with claws for knuckles and a hunger for power in his eyes...  
  
Shadow looked down at his hand. It was mostly black, except for the horrible scar going over his ring and pinky finger. His eyes followed the scar all the way up his arm to his shoulder. Then he looked away, almost wishing that he couldn't see them. But he remembered being blind and reminded himself just how bad that was, not being able to see anyone... see your best friend...  
  
He shaked his head, willing himself to forget about that. It wasn't a big deal, that he had never seen some of his friends' faces. Of course, there was always the fear that she would come back...  
  
'Quit thinking about her,' he thought to himself. 'It's no big deal that you've never seen her face!'  
  
'Yes, it is,' replied another part of him. 'What will happen when that island comes back in a week? What if Lemon the Echidna comes back?'  
  
He growled as he finished buttering the toast. He was about to eat it when the telephone rang. He jumped and looked over to it. He almost forgot he had one! He went over and picked it up.  
  
"Hello?" he said uneasily.  
  
"Shadow?! Hey, man, where are ya! We've been waiting here half an hour!"  
  
Sonic. Waiting for what?  
  
"Wha-? What're you talking about?" he asked.  
  
Sonic sighed. "Don't you remember," he said impatiently. "We're all going downtown today! You still coming or what? We're all outside the café but you locked the door!"  
  
"Ah!" yelled Shadow. He had completely forgotten! "Wait, I'm coming!"  
  
He hung up and quickly scrambled into his room, grabbing his gloves and fire-rings, the piece of toast in his mouth. He went to the little wooden dresser he had and pulled out a pair of pants that were far too big for him and began to pull them on. Because the population of the furries in the city had gone up, the humans had asked that anyone of them going into the city wear at least some clothing, just to make some people feel better about it. Shadow didn't really care too much, although whatever clothes he tried to wear, they kept falling off. But he was also thankful for it, because it gave him the chance to hide his scars. He secured his belt, making sure the extra-baggy pants wouldn't fall off, grabbed his trenchcoat and bucket hat, stepped into his shoes and began to run down the stairs outside.  
  
The building he lived in was only two floors and the first floor was a café that Sonic had started since Dr. Eggman had finally gone to prison. All of the hedgehogs ran it together, Shadow being in charge of locking it up every night and opening it up the next morning. It was Sunday, so he hadn't opened it early like he usually did. Sonic and Amy looked over as Shadow slipped down the last of the stairs and came to before them, an apologetic look on his face.  
  
"Oh, there you are," said Sonic, snickering. "Jeez, I should've realized earlier you had slept in."  
  
"Sorry," replied Shadow groggily. Amy stepped closer to him, a concerned look on her face.  
  
"You don't look too good, Shadow, are you ok?"  
  
Shadow blushed. "I-I'm fine. Just...tired..." He pulled on his hat a bit, hoping to hide his burning face. His skin was usually very tanned but today, it was rather pale, so it was easy to see if he was blushing or not. He tried not to look at Amy as they walked down the rainy sidewalk, Sonic and Amy sharing an umbrella.  
  
They reached downtown after a few minutes. Even though it was a rainy Sunday, it was still very busy at the mall. Sonic and Shadow let Amy lead the way through the mall as she checked out her favorite clothes store. She was trying on some new dresses when Sonic finally let himself talk.  
  
"Shadow, what's the matter?" he asked, keeping his voice down so that Amy wouldn't hear in the changing rooms.  
  
Shadow sighed as he leaned back in his chair. "Ah, it's nothing. I just haven't been sleeping much..."  
  
"Well, that's obvious," said Sonic. "Did you hear about that break- in at G.U.N?"  
  
Shadow nodded. Only a week earlier, someone had snuck into the military's base and released a secret weapon. It sounded alot like when Shadow was released by Dr. Eggman and it scared him. But he couldn't remember who else was trapped in there. He had a pretty good idea who, but he kept it to himself.  
  
"Don't worry about it," he said. "I'm fine."  
  
Sonic didn't seem so sure. But he let it go as Amy walked out in a little black dress. Both Sonic and Shadow stared as she did a little twirl for them, giggling.  
  
"Well," she said. "Whaddya think?"  
  
Sonic went a little red, blinking. "It's perfect..." he said. Shadow chuckled and elbowed his friend teasingly. Amy laughed and went back to get changed. By the time Amy had found some of the clothes she had wanted, the three of them went to the food court, where they shared some Chinese food. Shadow half-listened as Amy was chattering on with Sonic about what they were going to do next and failed to notice someone was sneaking up behind him.  
  
The person casually walked by the table and grinned craftily as he slid a small knife right at Shadow's throat. At that moment, however, Shadow dozed off and let his head slump down a bit, the knife barely missing him. The criminal cursed under his breath as he walked on, Shadow never knowing he had nearly been murdered.  
  
"Hey, Shadow!" called Amy, waking him up. "I think you need a cheer- up! C'mon!!!" He cringed as she pulled him up and began to drag him back into the mall, Sonic following with an amused look on his face.  
  
An hour later, Shadow left the mall holding a bag of clothes Amy had picked out for him. Of course most of them were too big on him, but she said that they'd look nice on him. Amy and Sonic were going to spend the rest of the day together. Shadow decided he'd go home and try to get some more sleep. He'd try his new clothes the next day, when he had to work.  
  
Outside, the mysterious criminal grinned as he memorized where his rival lived, still gripping the knife in his hand. 


	14. Chapter Thirteen Missing You

**Disclaimer: Sonic The Hedgehog and all related characters are copyright to SEGA. Athair the Echidna was originally copyright to Sonic Archie Comics and Sonic Underground. I changed him alot, but they still get credit. Lemon the Echidna, Tenchi the Hedgehog and all related characters that don't belong to SEGA belong to me, Zeldafreak-Vikki and my friend, Alyssa the Bat!  
  
Thanks alot for the reviews again! And thanks for finally having a complaint, Void99, I've been wondering when I'd get one! Because I am far from perfect. I put them in clothes for three reason: 1) It comes in handy in a later scene, 2) It's another excuse for Shadow to hide himself and 3)... Er... I dunno, maybe it's my friend's fault, she keeps drawing them with clothes! And, yeah, I kinda wrote the last chapter in a hurry and while being VERY sleepy. I'll spend more time on the others, I promise. Now, enough of that, enjoy Chapter 13!  
  
CHAPTER THIRTEEN - MISSING YOU**  
  
Lemon walked down the dirt road, observing echidna families outside playing and others starting to pack. They had been there for a whole year and would return in only a few days. The very thought made her heart soar. She remembered the conversation she had had with Knuckles that morning.  
  
"Look, I'm sorry about last night," he had mumbled. "I shouldn't have said all of that stuff."  
  
Lemon had waved away his apology with her hand.  
  
"Nah," she had replied, sighing. "It's about time I let it go anyway."  
  
At this, her older brother had taken her roughly by the shoulders. She was afraid he was angry with her and was about to struggle when she looked into his purple eyes and saw the passion there.  
  
"Lemon," he had said, an intensity in his voice. "I can tell you two were very close friends. Maybe even more than friends, I dunno." Lemon gave him a look telling him to get to the point.  
  
He shook his head, not sure how to explain himself. After a short pause, he said, "I've known Sonic for years. The first time I saw him, I was only fourteen and didn't even know you and Pop existed. Sonic was just some confused kid who couldn't remember anything. So I tried to help him but he was stubborn. They're all like that. Stubborn. Hedgehogs don't give up without a fight."  
  
Lemon was silent as he let go of her shoulders, letting a grin appear on his face.  
  
"If Tenchi was anything like Sonic, I'm sure he wouldn't have given up that easily."  
  
With that, he turned and headed for the door. Lemon felt confused, her whole perspective changed.  
  
Could Tenchi still be alive?  
  
"Maybe you should ask Rouge," said her older brother, answering her question. He winked to her and left, off to help Athair.  
  
And now, walking down that dirt road, she wondered. The very thought of seeing Tenchi again was so overwhelming, she felt like she was going to cry. But she would not have people seeing her being weak. And so her brain and her heart raged at each other. She was so preoccupied with this fierce battle, she didn't notice the blind old elder walking directly towards her until he bumped into her, almost knocking the two of them off their feet.  
  
"Aah!" cried the old echidna, waving his cane in front of him. "Who's in my way!"  
  
Lemon blinked, staring down at him. It was Arthur, one of the oldest elders either than Knuckles and Lemon's grandfather, Athair. He was one of the only living soldiers from the old wars, where he had lost his sight. These days he was a very cranky hermit that lived deep in the forest of the Mystic Ruins, only appearing in public when the Council was needed.  
  
"Well," he pressed, anger rushing through his old veins. "Who's there!"  
  
"Uh, it's me," she said. "Lemon."  
  
He leaned forward, making a horrible humming noise in his throat. "Ah, Athair's granddaughter. I remember you."  
  
He straightened up, both hands on his cane. Like all of the older echidnas, his quills had grown quite long and beads were strung onto them as a symbol of him being a part of the Elders' Council. Along with his cloudy, very deep blue eyes and mean look, Lemon had thought of him as a monster when she was little.  
  
"If you don't mind my asking, sir," she said with as much respect as she could muster, "what are you doing here?"  
  
Arthur scowled. "Nosy one, aren't you!" He started down the road, Lemon following beside him. "Ahhh, now that the mail's back, I need to get in touch with some old friends..."  
  
She stared, dumbfounded. "YOU have friends?!"  
  
The angry old hermit stopped, rage making his face go red. "Of course I have friends!"  
  
Lemon's apologetic face would not help her now. "Uh, sorry, sir," she said. "I just didn't figure... Who're your friends?"  
  
"Students," he replied, continuing his crooked pace, striking the ground with his cane. "I help teach Braille to people in town. I try to keep in touch with the intelligent ones."  
  
"Hm," replied Lemon, shocked. "There must not be many of them."  
  
At this, Arthur laughed, something that was both terrible and wonderful. "Ah, Lemon, I always liked you! You remind me of one of them!"  
  
"Oh?" Like there was anyone who could keep up with her. She may not have showed it often, but Lemon was one tough girl. "Who?"  
  
Arthur scratched his head. "Uh... Oh, some hedgehog... Ehhh... He had a really weird name... Some amnesiac guy..."  
  
At this, Lemon stopped dead. "Tenchi?"  
  
Arthur, realizing her footsteps had ceased, stopped. "Yes, that was it. You know him?"  
  
"I did."  
  
They came to a makeshift post office that had been set up only a day earlier. Lemon let Arthur go first, still unsure about what to send. She watched as he laid different envelopes on the table, all of the addresses printed out in Braille. After she had prepared them for delivery, the echidna smiled and assured him the letters would be delivered the next day with everyone else's.  
  
"They had better be," he replied. He turned to go and mumbled goodbye to Lemon but she stopped him, gripping his shoulder.  
  
"Arthur," she said, her voice shaking as if she was on fire. "You can send letters in Braille?"  
  
Arthur, confusion on his face, nodded his head. "Of course I can. Why?"  
  
"I need you to make me a letter," she replied, disbelief in her voice.

  
  
"Ow!"  
  
"Hold still already!"  
  
"It hurts!"  
  
"Don't be such a baby!"  
  
Sonic leaned back against the doorframe, watching as Amy examined the back of Shadow's neck. While he had been working behind the counter, a cut had started bleeding without stop. Although she wasn't a doctor, Amy could tell that it was quite deep. After cleaning it up, she carefully put a white bandage over it.  
  
"There! That wasn't so bad, was it," she said.  
  
Shadow scowled up at her from his seat and was about to talk back when Sonic cut in.  
  
"Shadow, how did that happen?" he asked, observing where the cut was.  
  
Shadow shrugged. "Probably skinned it on something," he said carelessly.  
  
"No way, it's too deep. And considering it's on your neck..." replied Sonic uncertainly.  
  
There was a silence in the room, only broken by Amy's panicked voice.  
  
"Are you suggesting someone tried to hurt Shadow?" she asked.  
  
Sonic shook his head. "I think someone tried to kill him."  
  
Shadow rolled his eyes and got up from his stool, rubbing his neck, a sceptical look on his face. "Yeah right," he scoffed. "I'm going back to work."  
  
Sonic shook his head but followed the malcontent hedgehog back into the café. For the rest of the day, it was rather quiet. Once it was dark outside, Shadow closed it up and the three of them walked up to Shadow's little dwelling. While Sonic was sitting down on one of the comfy chairs, Amy wandered over to Shadow's room.  
  
"Shadow!" she called. "It's a total mess in there!"  
  
Shadow walked over and closed the door to prevent her going in. "I've been busy."  
  
Both Sonic and Amy watched him as he stiffly walked over and threw himself into the chair beside Sonic, his arms folded tightly over his chest. They exchanged looks and silently decided to leave him alone. The last time he was stressed like this, Sonic had tried to talk to him and a fist-fight had started. He still remembered how hard Shadow hit with his left fist, even though he was right-handed. He was a force to be reckoned with.  
  
The tense atmosphere in the room was blown away as the door opened and Arashi walked in.  
  
The old hedgehog had changed. After staying with Sonic and Amy for a few months, Arashi had begun to learn how to be happy and all of the other emotions he could feel. Now most people knew him as Sonic's father, a little strict, but very wise and gentle.  
  
"Hey, Dad," said Sonic, not smiling. Arashi raised an eye-ridge, wondering why they all looked so melancholy, then noticed Shadow hunched in his chair. He allowed himself a small smile as he walked right up to him.  
  
Shadow glared up at him, annoyed. But his anger was shot down as Arashi held up an envelope, the address in Braille.  
  
"They said this is to a 'Tenchi Hedgehog'," said Arashi, his yellow eyes twinkling.  
  
Shadow took the envelope slowly, dumbfounded. He took off his gloves and ran his fingers lightly over the sender's address, letting his eyes go out of focus as he concentrated. Sonic leaned over curiously.  
  
"Who is it from?"  
  
Shadow didn't answer as he shakily opened the envelope and unfolded the letter. Trying his best to remember the basic Braille he had learned, the black and red hedgehog 'read' the letter, every line taking his breath away.  
  
"Dear Tenchi,  
  
I've been on this floating isle for a whole year now. In only a few days, we'll be able to come back to Station Square. We only just got our mail system working again. This is the first word I could get out.  
  
Although I'm so far away, I've kept my promise. I think about you almost every day. These past twelve months have been the longest of my life. Once we're in range, I'm getting the first train back. I'm eager to see you all again. Especially you. After I got out of that cave, Knuckles told me that you were dead. Please tell me he was wrong. He must be lying.  
  
Missing you,  
  
Lemon."  
  
She had even signed it. Shadow blinked, tears forming in his eyes. He wiped them away furiously, swallowing the lump in his throat.  
  
"Lemon," read Sonic from the signature. "Y-You mean Knuckles' sister? What did she say?"  
  
Shadow's eyes narrowed as he fought to stay calm. "She's coming back." He paused, then sighed as he pulled his gloves back on. "She thinks I'm dead."  
  
"Knuckles must've told her that. But he didn't know Dad saved you," said Sonic, trying to sound encouraging.  
  
Amy nodded in agreement. "It'll be great for her to see you're ok!"  
  
Shadow shook his head, getting up. "No," he said. "She-She can't see me. Not like this."  
  
Sonic got up too as his friend headed for the door. "Aw, c'mon, Shad! I know how much she liked-!"  
  
"Shut-up!" yelled Shadow, cracking the doorknob as he gripped it extra hard. "She was right, Tenchi's dead!" With that, he left, slamming the door behind him. Sonic reached for the cracked doorknob to go after him but Arashi stopped him.  
  
"Don't. Let him cool down a bit," he advised. Sonic sighed, looking aggravated. "Man, what's with him?"  
  
"He's afraid," replied Arashi.  
  
Sonic blinked and looked up at his Dad, questioning. "Afraid of what?"  
  
"Of being hurt again."  
  
On the outskirts of Station Square, where it was nothing but desert, Shadow ran. He didn't care where he was going, just as long as it was away from them. He kept going at full speed through the cold darkness, his mind screaming in agony.  
  
By the time the sun began to peek up from over the mountains, he had run almost the full length of the entire desert. At this point, both his mind and his body had gone numb and failed to notice that he was nearing the rocky area. Not until he heard a sickening crack did he realize he had crashed into one of the boulders. He fell back, eyes shut as a searing pain ran through his head and gradually into the rest of his body.  
  
Half hoping he had killed himself, he opened his eyes slowly and looked up. His collision had caused a large crack in the boulder and little bits fell out around his feet as he stiffly tried to sit up. But his arms gave out behind him and he ended up falling back again. He groaned as he felt the full pain coming back to him.  
  
"That's gonna hurt later."  
  
He looked up and saw Arashi standing behind him, upside down in his eyes.  
  
"Ara... shi..." he moaned, tired out of his mind.  
  
Arashi tutted as he kneeled down and began to lift Shadow up.  
  
"I guess Maria's death affected you harder than I thought," he said. "You really loved her, didn't you?"  
  
Shadow shook his head, not wanting to admit it. "Maria! I don't... know who that... is..." he grumbled, trying to stand on his own. He wobbled and lost his balance, Arashi catching him.  
  
"You're a bad liar," he said, steadying Shadow, who finally gave in and let Arashi carry him back to his apartment, where Sonic and Amy were waiting in worry.  
  
Coming out from her hiding place, the blonde woman walked over and ran her hand down the crack in the boulder. She sniffled back a sob of guilt and shook her head, wishing things were different.


	15. Chapter Fourteen Double Trouble

**Disclaimer: Sonic The Hedgehog and all related characters are copyright to SEGA. Athair the Echidna was originally copyright to Sonic Archie Comics and Sonic Underground. I changed him a lot, but they still get credit. Lemon the Echidna, Tenchi the Hedgehog and all related characters that don't belong to SEGA belong to me, Zeldafreak-Vikki and my friend, Alyssa the Bat!  
  
Well, Void99, I'll admit I really get worried when people complain about my story and yeah, Shad was upset. He'll get bothered about how stupid he's been and he's got even worse problems to deal with the "troublemaker" and the blonde lady, whom I'm revealing since it's obvious at this point. Add hiding himself from Lemon to the mix and he's in for one heck of a time! I'll just have to write this chapter in attempt to not receive any complaints from you. That can be my little goal (and don't worry, I don't think you're a jerk). ;)  
  
Note: I changed things from SA2 a little bit, as you'll see. Everyone's got their own version of how that night on the ARK happened, and here's mine.  
  
CHAPTER FOURTEEN - DOUBLE TROUBLE  
**  
Matt Haruna had never questioned his boss's methods. Nobody ever disagreed with Gerald Robotnik. After all, he was the one who had created the Eclipse Cannon and Artificial Chaos. More importantly, he had created the Ultimate Life Form.  
  
Matt knew he had sacrificed a great deal to create them. Six life forms, all different. Professor Gerald said that each one had a Chaos Emerald and when all of them were in one place, each with their Chaos Emeralds in hand, they would come together as one and be the Ultimate Life Form.  
  
However, young Haruna noticed that Professor Gerald had only created six life forms. He knew for a fact there were seven Chaos Emeralds and pointed this out to the old man, who chuckled at the kid's curiosity.  
  
"Yes, I know," replied Professor Gerald. "The seventh is a human I imbued with Hatian Cells."  
  
Matt's eyes widened in shock. Hatian Cells were the cells found in the other life forms, which gave them a longer life span and made them almost impossible to kill. But giving it to a human was a dangerous thing. One of their scientists, Jeremy, had died a year before just from being exposed to them. Matt wondered who would be strong enough to hold Hatian Cells in their blood when his question was answered.  
  
"It's my granddaughter."  
  
"You've got to be kidding me," replied Matt.  
  
Gerald shook his head as he looked out the window, gazing at the planet Earth.  
  
"Do you remember when we first created Shadow?" he asked. Matt nodded as he came up next to his boss.  
  
"Yeah, I remember. Poor guy's skin was all burnt after we added the Hatian Cells and ended up killing Jeremy."  
  
"Remember who helped him?" pressed the professor, a grin appearing on his face.  
  
Matt exhaled in shock as he remembered the young girl rushing to the injured hedgehog. "Maria... God, why didn't I notice it before!"  
  
Gerald chuckled. "Exactly. No one would've figured it out. And she'll live to be well over one hundred years old, just like the projects."  
  
Matt was about to ask another question when a violent tremor ran through the whole colony, knocking him off of his feet. The Professor gripped a railing by the window and looked out in time to see a space ship with a familiar logo on the wings docking at their gates.  
  
"Oh no," he mumbled. "G.U.N!"  
  
At the same time, Maria yelped as she began to fall off of her bed. Lucky for her, a black and red hedgehog caught her just in time, letting her down lightly on the floor.  
  
"Oh!" She looked to Shadow. "What was that?!"  
  
Shadow glared sharply out the window and Maria saw his pupils get very small.  
  
"Oh no, it's the military!" They listened as the ship docked, then looked to each-other and nodded, knowing what they must do. Maria's grandfather had warned them to run for the escape pods if the military ever came. Shadow knew that they would raid the colony and it was up to him to protect his best friend, no matter what.  
  
"Let's go!" He grabbed her hand and they both began to run down the long hallway just as the alarms went off and red lights flashed on and off. On either side of them, scientists were running to the laboratories, not noticing the two little panicked figures racing past them. They had almost made it to the escape pods when they saw that the raiders were blocking the entrance.  
  
"There's one! With that kid!"  
  
"Shoot him!"  
  
Shadow clenched his teeth as he came to a halt, the military's guards a few yards away, aiming for him. He whipped his head around, looking for an exit as the alarm blared over their head. Maria, realizing there was no way out, shut her eyes and waited for impact. Shadow, not knowing what else to do, pulled Maria down and stood before her like a shield. "No, Shadow, you ca-AAHHH!!" She screamed as she heard the guns shoot and plugged her ears, the gunshots piercing her heart. But the bullets never came.  
  
All of the soldiers lowered their guns in shock. The strange black hedgehog stood before them, panting from the five bullets he had taken to the chest. Maria stared in shock as Shadow stepped towards them threateningly. The soldiers paused, then dropped their guns and ran away. Shadow managed a little grin right before he began to fall back, completely winded.  
  
Returning the favour from before, Maria caught him and pulled him up by under his arms.  
  
"Shadow, are you ok?!" she cried, panicked. Shadow opened his eyes and began to stand on his own, not taking much notice of the blood staining the once white tuft of fur on his chest. "I'm alright," he rasped. To prove this, he tried to stand up straight but ended up choking on some blood and collapsing. Maria caught him and felt herself shake in fear for her friend.  
  
"It's ok, we're almost there!" she said. She threw open the door and came to a small and very dark room. Shutting it behind her, she rushed for the next set of doors, which would lead to the room with the escape pods. She was just reaching for the door-handle when it turned on its own. She gasped and jumped back as the door swung open, hitting the opposing wall so hard that the alarm speaker fell and hit the ground, causing the room to go dead silent.  
  
Standing before the two friends was a black echidna. His yellow eyes glowed in the darkness of the room and the faint red light surrounding him from the room beyond made him even more threatening. Maria stepped back in fear, hugging Shadow closer, who at this point was only half-conscious. The echidna began to step towards her, each step echoing louder in her ears. Shadow opened his eyes in time to see a giant spiked fist come down at them with the strength of the BioLizard.  
  
'Protect-Maria!' ordered his numb mind. In reply, the dying hedgehog threw himself from Maria's grasp in a jump to meet the fist, which hit him right in the skull, cracking it deeply and obscuring his memory forever. He was already knocked out when he went flying into Maria, who was knocked back and hit her own head against the wall, unconscious but luckily unscathed. The echidna, now frustrated and deeply angered, was about to finish them both off when he heard voices coming. It was the soldiers with their guns. The echidna snarled to his enemy and then ran, his life more important than ending theirs.  
  
The soldiers found the professor's granddaughter lying in a pool of blood next to a dangerous-looking project and assumed "it" had killed her and they laid her body with the other casualties, taking the project to be used by Station Square's Government Base.  
  
Matt Haruna watched as Shadow was dragged away, along with the echidna, who had been captured shortly after his attack on Maria. Once the coast was clear, the young scientist ran out to Maria and fell to his knees beside her, lifting up her head and torso gently and hugging her close, breaking down into tears.  
  
"Oh no," he sobbed, unable to contain himself any longer. "This is all my fault. I should've been there to protect you! I should never have agreed to this! I'm sorry, Maria!"  
  
"Sorry for what?"  
  
Matt's eyes widened and he pulled back in surprise. Maria blinked up at him, dazed and confused. Her cloudy blue eyes began to clear as she sat up on her own, looking to Matt in worry. Why was he crying?  
  
"M-Maria," he said shakily, wiping his tears away. "Thank God! I thought you were dead! What happened?!"  
  
Maria felt her heart squeeze as she remembered. "Well..."  
  
The blonde woman screamed in rage and brought her fists down on the boulder, which cracked even more. She panted as her anger died down and leaned her forehead against the boulder, tears falling down her cheeks. Thanks to the Hatian Cells running through her blood, her strength was twice that of a normal human. And it only made her feel worse.  
  
"Maria," called a voice.  
  
She turned to see an old man walking towards her. It was Matt, a gentle smile on his face. He came to her and gently pulled her away from the boulder.  
  
"Come, now, Maria, it wasn't your fault," he said, trying to comfort her.  
  
Maria shook her head, wiping away a tear. "Yes, it is! I'm the one who released that monster from G.U.N! I'm the one who didn't die! It's all my fault!" She covered her face, her shoulders hunched. "I-I don't know what's doing this to me... Something's calling... A voice... It's telling me to bring them all together..."  
  
Matt nodded, putting an arm around her. "It's the calling of the Ultimate Life Form. It must rise like your grandfather wanted."  
  
Maria nodded, but deep down inside, she knew what she was doing could never be the right thing.  
  
Shadow opened his eyes but quickly shut them again, the light feeling like a gigantic sword piercing his head. After a few minutes, his eyelids had stopped hurting and he dared to open his eyes. He could tell from the window beside him that it was already morning. He sat up shakily, his head hurting so much it made him feel sick. Even though his vision was a little blurry, he could tell he was back in his room. He winced as his headache pounded like an iron hammer on stone and bent over, grasping his head and shutting his eyes, resisting the urge to throw up.  
  
It was lucky for him that Sonic walked in at that moment to check on him.  
  
"Hey," he said gently, putting his hand on one of Shadow's hunched shoulders. "C'mon, Shad, snap out of it."  
  
Ten minutes later, Sonic had managed to get Shadow to lie back down and put a wet cloth on his forehead to stop the fever that had infested his body while he had slept.  
  
"Well," he said, sitting on his chair backwards and leaning his elbows on it. "I hope you feel stupid now."  
  
Shadow sighed, closing his eyes as he relived it in his head. According to Sonic, he had actually cracked his skull and had been in a coma for two days now. He was lucky that he could heal quickly or he would have been dead at that point.  
  
"So," said Sonic, trying to break the uncomfortable silence. "Why are you so upset about Lemon coming back? I mean, shouldn't you be happy to finally get to see her?"  
  
"That's what I'm scared of," replied Shadow, his voice shaking. "I-I don't want to see her. She only knows Tenchi and I'm not him anymore."  
  
"No kidding," said Sonic, grinning.  
  
Shadow gave him a warning look, then went on. "I've never even seen her face before. I remember her voice but I can't imagine what she'd look like. And she definitely won't recognize me. I think it's better if it stays that way."  
  
Sonic saw the sadness in his friend's eyes and shook his head. "No, that's not right. You've gotta see her again!"  
  
Shadow glared at him, annoyed. "No way!"  
  
"Yes! It's obvious you've got the hots for her and she loved you too! Go see her!"  
  
"No!"  
  
"Yes!"  
  
"NO!"  
  
"YES!"  
  
Shadow was about to yell back when a painful jolt ran through his head, causing him to shut his eyes and cringe. Sonic blinked in confusion and leaned in closer, worried. "Hey, Shadow? You ok?" His eyes widened as he saw Shadow's hand drop beside him, limp.  
  
"SHADOW!"  
  
A violent wind blew Shadow's quills sideways as he stood in a strange black and purple world. Desert surrounded him and the sky overhead was pitch black with a white moon that gave off very little light. Flurries of sand hit him from the side as the wind stormed and sent a chill down his spine. There was no sound except for the howling wind and the only sign of life were a couple of dead and very bare trees. Just what was this horrible place?  
  
"Hello, Shadow," said a voice, which was a mix of a woman's and a man's. Shadow froze and slowly stepped to look behind him. His red eyes widened as his eyes discerned the figure through the darkness and attacking sand.  
  
"Y-Yami!"  
  
And the black echidna stepped into the light. A white upside down triangle was on his forehead, the mark of the ARK. He was taller than Shadow and his limbs were much thicker, suggesting his strength was triple that of the speedy hedgehog. A big white "X" was on his broad chest, similar to the marking on Arashi's. But something was very wrong: Shadow couldn't see the echidna's pupils, nose or mouth. Was this a dream?!  
  
"Ah, I see you remember me," said the echidna, the strange double- voice sounding inside Shadow's head. "Of course, how could you forget after the little memento I left?"  
  
Shadow looked down at his scars and glared back up at Yami, remembering well when he had last fought with this sinister monster on the space colony ARK well over fifty years ago.  
  
"What's going on, Yami," he demanded, trying to hide his fear. "Where are we?"  
  
If he had had a mouth, Yami would have grinned.  
  
"We're in your mind, Shadow," he replied, laughing. "I'm killing you!"  
  
Author's Note: Wow, I'm just so mean, leaving it there. Anywho, I just wanted to note, THANK-YOU SO MUCH for the reviews, you guys! 80 reviews is more than I ever dreamed of getting for my first fic! hugs every one of you Expect the next chapter in a week, possibly less if I don't get too much homework. Also, if you wanna see what Tenchi, Lemon, Maria and others look like, I've got an account on deviantART, which can be found in the Artwork section of my site, Purpleanime. I dunno, see how bad my art is. :p So, see ya in a week! -Zeldafreak-Vikki 


	16. Chapter Fifteen Strengths And Weaknesse...

**Disclaimer: Sonic The Hedgehog and all related characters are copyright to SEGA. Athair the Echidna was originally copyright to Sonic Archie Comics and Sonic Underground. I changed him a lot, but they still get credit. Lemon the Echidna, Tenchi the Hedgehog and all related characters that don't belong to SEGA belong to me, Zeldafreak-Vikki and my friend, Alyssa the Bat!  
  
Man, I am just so mean, putting all you people in suspense like that. I'm sure you're wondering what's gonna happen to our beloved little Shadow. Will he be destroyed by his old rival Yami or will he triumph over that little jerk and live to see Lemon? Doubt it... Heh. Again, thanks for the reviews! And as for you, Void 99, yeah, the dropping guns thing was just to put a little comedy in and not let it get too serious. I like mixing genres like that. It's just my style, I guess. Oh, I also changed their ages around a bit to make some couples fit. Anywho, let's see what happens in Chapter 15!  
  
Extra Note: I watched Episode 34 of Sonic X, which is when Shadow first shows up, and it was AWESOME!  
  
CHAPTER FIFTEEN - STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES**  
  
"What's going on?" asked Sonic, watching as Arashi lifted one of Shadow's eyelids and examined the pupil. It was fully dilated and showed no signs of changing. Arashi sat down in the chair by the bed and a grim look appeared on his face.  
  
"Someone's broken into his mind," he said, wiping a drop of sweat away from Shadow's eye. "If he doesn't fight back, that person could kill him."  
  
Sonic remembered back when he had been infected with the X Viper poison and Arashi had visited him in his mind. There, it may have been against his will, but Arashi hadn't tried to kill him. He couldn't imagine how horrible it was to have someone take control of your mind and try to destroy you.  
  
"Can't we help him?" asked Sonic, concern showing in his green eyes.  
  
Arashi shook his head gravely. "All we can do is wait... and hope he wakes up."  
  
Yami's laugh echoed throughout the strange reality where the two of them stood. Shadow clenched his teeth and fists, already feeling his strength being drained. But he couldn't let Yami see that, so he tried to keep his face as straight as possible.  
  
"Starting to feel it?" hissed Yami. "By the time I'm done, your heart will have stopped and you'll have drawn your last breath."  
  
Shadow gulped as the color began to drain from his face. This couldn't be happening.  
  
"Y-Yami, how the hell are you doing this," he growled, feeling a terrible pain in his muscles.  
  
Yami chuckled, hopped up and sat in mid-air, floating and setting his soulless eyes on his victim. "So, you actually remember how capable I was fifty years ago."  
  
Shadow managed a grin, glaring right back at him. "Yeah, I remember when you were a weak little echidna! What gives?!"  
  
"I'm using Starr."  
  
That wiped the smile off of Shadow's face. Starr was a young white echidna girl who was one of the first projects created after Arashi. She looked just like the others, with the trademark upside down triangle on her forehead and a religious cross over her chest. But inside, she was radically different. The embryo used to created her turned out to be a pair of twins instead of just one life-form. But when the professor tried to form it as one, it turned out to be Starr with her twin brother biding his time in her mind. She developed in a growth tank for almost two years because her psychic powers were too great for her to leave the safety of the sustenance. Shadow remembered when he was just a little emotionless hedgehog who would stare at her and even have telepathic conversations sometimes.  
  
But then her twin took over. Starr's fur went from pure white to a sinister black and the cross on her chest turned into a white X. Soon enough, Shade the Echidna had taken over, cornering Starr in his corrupted mind. He broke free of his tank and was determined to be the Ultimate Life- Form all on his own. But the scientists all said the same thing about him: "He's too slow. He'll never be as balanced in strength and speed as Shadow." After that, Shade became so angry he attacked Arashi in his tank, fatally wounding him. Shortly after Arashi died, both Shade and Shadow were unnaturally aged in hopes that their weaknesses would disappear after become ten years older. That's when Shade was reborn as Yami and became even more evil and power-hungry. Shadow developed emotions but it wasn't enough to stop Yami attacking him and leaving him with those horrible scars forever. Thinking back on this, Shadow realized all of his memories before had been wrong.  
  
"...Protect...Maria..." he murmured, his head bowed as he shivered. Yami furrowed his eye-ridges, not hearing.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Protect Maria," Shadow looked up, finally remembering. "That was my purpose... But... someone killed her..."  
  
"Yes," replied Yami, his voice proud as Starr's mourned. "I killed her!"  
  
Shadow gasped. Now it all made sense! Yami had blocked them off. It was Yami who had cracked his skull and had obscured his memories! But that last crash must've set it right. He growled as his anger towards Yami sparked into flame and lunged forward to attack.  
  
"WHY, YOU-!"  
  
Yami held out his clawed hand. "I don't think so, Shadow!"  
  
Shadow screamed as a wave of transparent electrical waves ran through his body and sapped up the rest of his energy. He grunted as he hit the ground, unable to move.  
  
In the "real world", Sonic and Arashi could do nothing but watch as Shadow's body shuddered and went completely slack. He even stopped breathing for a few seconds! Sonic tensed up, panicked, but Arashi laid a calm hand on his shoulder, remaining neutral.  
  
"Don't worry, he's not out yet."  
  
"Heh, you're not so tough," taunted Yami as he hopped off of his mid- air seat and began to walk towards his fallen adversary. "I think I'll kill you now. We've had enough fun."  
  
Shadow glared up at the echidna and managed to shakily lift up his head, which felt about as heavy as a whale. Yami's shadow loomed over the fallen hedgehog, who cringed slightly as he raised his fist, gaining power for a punch strong enough to put right through Shadow's head.  
  
"Sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog!"  
  
And down went the punch.  
  
"No," murmured Arashi, watching with his psychic powers. Sonic, who had a feeling of what was going on, felt a great feeling of terror take a hold of him.  
  
"Shadow! FIGHT BACK!"  
  
Outside on the street, Amy Rose stopped dead as she heard panicked voices echoing in her mind. She dropped her groceries by her sides and stared up towards the grey sky. She blinked as she realized there was a mysterious stranger sitting on the roof of Shadow's building. What was he doing there? Whatever it was, it wasn't good. The voices in her head were telling her so. Wait... voices in her head?!  
  
"Hey, you!" she yelled, glaring up at the dark figure, who turned his head to look down at her. "What're you doing up there!"  
  
Yami's blank eyes narrowed down on the little pink hedgehog. In Shadow's mind, Shadow was surprised to see that Yami had paused, his fist still above his head. Someone was distracting him!  
  
"What is it?" he asked in real life, cursing in his head that this stupid little girl had stopped him from killing Shadow once and for all.  
  
Amy put her hands on her hips and a stern look crossed her face. "Well?! Answer me already!"  
  
A low growl came from Yami as he stood up, allowing himself to become a little more distracted. Maybe he'd just kill her first...  
  
"YAMI!!!"  
  
"Huh?!" He whipped his head around, his long white-tipped quills following shortly and came face-to-face with the last person he expected to see in that moment.  
  
"Ma-!"  
  
SLAM!  
  
Maria Robotnik yelled as she brought a big piece of metal down onto Yami's head. She had just found it lying there on the old roof and when she had heard Sonic and Arashi's panicked voices, it had been her first reflex to attack without thinking.  
  
And she had to admit it was satisfying to watch the wicked little echidna drop unconscious with a groan.  
  
Shadow gasped as his eyes snapped open, finally free of his own mind. He started to sit up but felt Arashi's strong hand push him back down onto the bed. He tried to fight against him but soon gave up, realizing he had no strength left.  
  
"Welcome back," chuckled Arashi, grinning calmly. Shadow blinked and whiped a few drops of sweat from his eyes, which stung with sleep. He closed them and let his arm fall by his side with a small moan. Sonic sat by Arashi and the two of them watched him fall asleep.  
  
Awhile later, when it was only Sonic sitting there by Shadow's bed, Amy walked in. Arashi had explained to her what had happened and after finding the roof abandoned, had decided to not worry about it. She sat next to Sonic, keeping her distance.  
  
"Hey," she said.  
  
"Hey," he replied.  
  
"Um... How're you doing?" she asked, not knowing what else to say.  
  
"Well, he's still a bit sick but his head's almost totally heal-"  
  
"No, Sonic, not him," cut in Amy, blushing slightly. "I meant you."  
  
"Oh." Sonic blushed deeply and looked down. This was possibly his only weakness: Feelings. "W-Well... I'm ok... I guess..."  
  
Amy allowed herself a small smile. "You look kinda tired. Maybe you should get some rest."  
  
Sonic shrugged uneasily as Amy inched a bit closer to him. "Well..."  
  
"You can to get some rest. I'll watch over Shadow," offered Amy, now right beside him.  
  
Sonic smiled and shook his head. "Nah, it's ok, Amy. That's nice of you to offer though."  
  
"Well, I'm just worried, I guess."  
  
Sonic nodded, looking to Shadow. "Yeah, he's been pretty stressed lately-"  
  
"Not Shadow, silly!"  
  
Sonic blinked and looked to Amy, feeling his face burning. For the longest time, he had tried to forget about his feelings for Amy, knowing just how soft it made him. However, he was twenty years-old now and Amy only one year younger than him. And ever since he had realized his own feelings only a year before...  
  
Amy gulped as there was an extremely uncomfortable silence. Ever since she was a little girl, she had always loved Sonic and admired him from afar. But after he had allowed her to move in with him, she wondered if he felt the same way about her. You could never tell with guys, could you? Always concealing their feelings...  
  
"Amy," he said, breaking the silence. "I-uh...I wanted to say..."  
  
"Yes?" She looked up to him, blushing just as much as him now. Was this really happening?!  
  
"Wanted to say... to...uh... Oh, man, I had this figured out before- !"  
  
But he didn't have to say much more because that's when Amy came up and kissed him. After a few seconds, she pulled away, nervous at what his reaction would be. Would he be angry? Embarrassed?  
  
Then all of her worries dissolved into thin air as he came back and kissed her, this time for much longer.  
  
Behind them, a little grin appeared on Shadow's face as he pretended to sleep. 


	17. Chapter Sixteen Hide And Seek

**Disclaimer: Sonic The Hedgehog and all related characters are copyright to SEGA. Athair the Echidna was originally copyright to Sonic Archie Comics and Sonic Underground. I changed him a lot, but they still get credit. Lemon the Echidna, Tenchi the Hedgehog and all related characters that don't belong to SEGA belong to me, Zeldafreak-Vikki and my friend, Alyssa the Bat!  
  
Well, this is it. The one we've been waiting for. The Floating Isle is back in range and the echidnas are coming home! Will Lemon recognize our widdle Shadow? (Wow, that's something people could bet over!) And I loved the reviews! You guys are so encouraging! throws confetti everywhere Now, on with Chapter 16!  
  
CHAPTER SIXTEEN - HIDE AND SEEK  
**  
The next day, Arashi wouldn't let Shadow out of bed until he could speak properly. (Yami's attack had left him in mild shock for a few hours) Once he could string a few words together, he decided to go thank Sonic and maybe help out behind the counter for awhile.  
  
"It was no biggie," said Sonic awhile later. "You're the one who fought him off."  
  
"Yeah, but..." Shadow paused as he cleared his throat, which was being blocked off by a huge lump. "You helped too."  
  
Sonic shrugged as he put glasses away on the shelves behind him. Shadow grinned and began to help him.  
  
"So, you must've had an interesting night," he said, as casually as possible.  
  
Sonic reached for another glass, keeping his face straight. "Oh yeah, it was. It was very interesting, actually..."  
  
"I guess it would be," said Shadow, smirking, "Getting your first kiss..."  
  
He couldn't help but chuckle as he watched Sonic's eyes widen. The blue hedgehog softly laid the last glass on its shelf, then practically attacked Shadow, knocking him to the floor with his arm around his neck. Shadow choked as his windpipe was blocked off.  
  
"You - were - AWAKE?!" yelled Sonic, the two hedgehogs struggling against each-other. But Shadow was still very weak and had no chance of escaping.  
  
"Well, yeah," he gasped, gripping Sonic's arm in a feeble attempt to pull away. "Your stupid flirting woke me up!"  
  
"YOU'RE DEAD!"  
  
A group of hedgehogs at a nearby table, Amy included, watched as Sonic and Shadow began a little scuffle on the floor, attempting to hold each-other down and punch the other's brains out. One guy shook his head with a grin as a bottle fell off the counter.  
  
"There they go again," he said. "I'll bet ten bucks that Shadow'll win."  
  
"Yeah right!" replied one of his friends, pulling out a ten dollar bill. "My money says Sonic's got this one!"  
  
"Well, I'll bet that their fight will never end," said Amy, watching with a sigh. "Honestly, those two..."  
  
Just as Shadow was getting the upper hand, the door slammed open. They all looked up in time to see Knuckles the Echidna step in, looking over at Amy as she won twenty dollars from the bet and gave a cheer. She giggled and waved to him as Shadow and Sonic quickly hid behind the counter.  
  
"Oh my God," whispered Shadow, feeling his whole body beginning to shake with fear.  
  
"What's the matter, Shad, it's just Knux," replied Sonic.  
  
"It's not just him!"  
  
"Hm?" Sonic peeked up and watched as two more people walked in. He recognized the old red echidna in the glasses and robe as Athair, Knuckles' grandfather.  
  
And then Lemon walked in, covered in sunshine.  
  
Sonic gasped and ducked back down behind the counter.  
  
"Dude, it's Lemon!" he whispered, grinning as Shadow shut his eyes.  
  
"Oh man, I-I can't face her..." he groaned, covering his eyes with his hands.  
  
Sonic shook his head and stood up, letting Knuckles see him. "Hey, Knux, long time, no see!"  
  
Knuckles looked to Sonic and walked up to the counter, grinning. "Well, well, if it ain't Sonic," he said in his usual calm tone, "This is quite a surprise. The great Sonic the Hedgehog running a café."  
  
Sonic chuckled nervously, blushing slightly with embarrassment. "Yeah, well, now that Eggy's locked up, I kinda don't have a choice."  
  
Knuckles chuckled and sat down, leaning his elbows on the surface of the counter. "Before you ask, no, nothing happened on the island, it was the most boring one yet. The only highlight was making Lemon work as the bartender since the other guy got sick. What about you guys?"  
  
Sonic cleared his throat as he sat down across from Knuckles. As casually as possible, he cocked his head to where Shadow was hiding. Knuckles blinked and leaned forward, looking over and as soon as he laid his eyes on the black hedgehog, his pupils became very small, which was expected.  
  
Lemon came over and shoved Knuckles over. "Hey," she said, doing her best to annoy him, "What'cha lookin' at!?"  
  
Shadow held his breath as he leaned back as far as he could against the back of the counter, his heart pounding painfully in his chest. Sonic held out a hand to tell him it was okay as Knuckles faced Lemon, thinking up an excuse.  
  
"It's just a rat," he said, a great amount of hate in his voice, "A very big rat."  
  
Lemon blinked. "Huh, need me to kill it? I know how sentimental you are, Knux."  
  
Knuckles shook his head. "It's already dead."  
  
Yami gazed out over Station Square from the top of one of the highest buildings he could climb. It was easy for him with his extra sharp claws and immense strength. Along with Starr's psychic powers, he was almost invincible.  
  
Although Maria being alive was a big setback in his plans to destroy the others and become the Ultimate Life-Form. She was the only Human alive who could compare to them and Yami had learned that the hard way. Running his hand over the painful bump on his head, he pondered how he could rid himself of that pest before she completely ruined his efforts.  
  
"Starr," he said, calling up the soul of his twin sister. "Show yourself."  
  
He held up his head as the transparent spirit of Starr the Echidna appeared before him, looking miserable, which was devastating to see in a child. But that didn't bother Yami's evil conscious.  
  
"Well, Starr, Maria's alive," he said, with a great deal of contempt. "And little Shadow's escaped again."  
  
Starr sniffled as she stepped towards him, her footsteps echoing eerily. "Shade,-"  
  
"My name is Yami, you little pipsqueak!" he raged, cutting her off. Starr cowered at his anger with a small whimper.  
  
"O-Okay, Yami," she stuttered. "Wh-What do you want to know?"  
  
Yami turned to look out over the downtown area, lit up in the night and full of live energy.  
  
"Tell me how to corner and kill Shadow."  
  
"So, you're telling me that Tenchi was really Shadow the whole time," said Knuckles after Rouge and Sonic explained it to him. Shadow himself sat by the window, avoiding the others sitting in his apartment.  
  
"Yup," replied Rouge. "He was in bad shape before because he fell through the atmosphere. He was pretty lucky to survive at all."  
  
Knuckles stood up and walked over to Shadow, who kept his back turned to the echidna.  
  
"Do you know how much pain you've caused her?" he asked, his calm voice masking his anger.  
  
Shadow kept his gaze on the dark building across the street. "I don't know who you're-"  
  
"You know exactly who I'm talking about, you stupid hedgehog!"  
  
Rouge and Sonic looked over as Knuckles grabbed Shadow by the neck and shoved him back against the window. Knuckles' face contorted in anger while Shadow's remained surprisingly calm. Sonic decided not to get involved, but Rouge stood up.  
  
"Knuckles!"  
  
Knuckles held up his other hand to silence her and glared into Shadow's dark eyes.  
  
"Well?" he pressed, his grip tightening. "Answer me!"  
  
Shadow's lip trembled and he looked away, avoiding Knuckles' accusing glare as his eyes shone with tears that surprised the three of them. His choked voice ran straight through their hearts like a crimson arrow.  
  
"You think I haven't thought of her every single day this past year?"  
  
At this, Knuckles released his grip on Shadow's neck. Sonic grinned behind them and couldn't help but chuckle.  
  
"Well, Athair's not gonna like this one."  
  
After Shadow had walked out of the room and Rouge had calmed Knuckles down a bit, they decided to leave and "catch up" on some things. Sonic didn't ask questions.  
  
"Ok, Knux, but before you go, promise me that you won't tell Lemon any of this," he said firmly, demanding more than asking.  
  
"But why!" protested Knuckles, looking as if this was the most unfair thing in the world. "Do you know how much she's been bugging me about this?! I could finally rid myself of her stupid nagging!"  
  
Sonic shook his head, almost feeling sorry for Knuckles and his suffering. "Look, I know it sounds dumb, but I think Shadow should be the one to tell her."  
  
Knuckles paused as Rouge grinned beside him, finding this whole dilemma very funny.  
  
"You know, that would probably be best," she said, putting a hand on Knuckles' shoulder.  
  
The echidna guardian paused, then sighed, giving in. "Alright," he groaned. "Alright, I won't say anything. But if that rat hurts my sister, he'll rue the day he crossed me!"  
  
Sonic waved Knuckles' threats aside. "Yeah, yeah, I hear ya. Save it for later, knucklehead."  
  
Knuckles growled but didn't attack, knowing better than to attack someone as quick as Sonic. With that, the little couple headed for the door. Rouge opened it and began to step out but Knuckles stopped.  
  
"Oh yeah, one more thing," he turned to Sonic. "My grandfather's gonna need a place to stay for awhile. He doesn't trust any of the hotels and I don't want him in Rouge's house while I'm stayin' there. Even I need a break sometimes."  
  
"Why, what's wrong with him staying with you?" asked Sonic, puzzled. He obviously didn't know Athair.  
  
Knuckles cleared his throat, blushing. "Well, y'know, my grandfather's got this thing for blackmail. If he finds out about Rouge and me, he'll never leave me alone about it. He's pretty dangerous that way. We need to put him somewhere where he won't ruin peoples' lives."  
  
"Well, he can't stay with Amy and I. There's no room what with Dad living with us now. And Amy invited Lemon."  
  
The two paused until Rouge spoke her mind.  
  
"Why don't you let him stay up here with Shadow?"  
  
The two guys looked to her as if she was crazy.  
  
"Rouge, are you nuts?!" cried Knuckles. "Pop is from the war between Echidnas and Hedgehogs! He'd shoot Shadow on sight!"  
  
Rouge shook her head. "I know Shadow, he can take care of himself. And just tell Athair that if he can't deal with it, he'll have to live on the streets. He'll have no choice."  
  
Knuckles opened his mouth to reply but stopped, knowing better than to get into a fight with Rouge.  
  
"Well... Okay, I'll talk to him. Be prepared in case he decides to come tonight."  
  
With that, they closed the door and left. Sonic walked outside onto the small balcony and looked up, feeling his quills being swept to the side by the cold night wind. He knew that Shadow had climbed up onto the roof to be alone. He had made a habit of it lately. Sonic bent his knees readily and jumped up, using the wind to keep him up in the air for a few extra seconds and landed lightly on the roof. Just as he had expected, Shadow was sitting on the edge on the opposite side of where Sonic stood.  
  
Very cautiously, he approached Shadow, who kept his hunched back to him. Sonic was just wondering if he had fallen asleep when he spoke.  
  
"Shoot me on sight, eh?" he said, his tone suggesting that he was on the verge of breaking Sonic's neck.  
  
Sonic gulped. "You heard, huh? Well, I figured it would be okay. I mean, I know you could handle him better than I ever could."  
  
Shadow's shoulders hunched even more and Sonic could tell he was clenching his teeth while he spoke. "You expect me to deal with an old echidna who wants nothing more than to see me dead?!"  
  
Sonic shrugged, ignoring the guilt that was beginning to attack his heart. "Oh, c'mon, Shad!" he said, trying to sound encouraging. "It's just for a month or so! It won't be so bad!"  
  
"It's Lemon's grandfather!" growled Shadow, still refusing to look Sonic in the eye. "During those three years I knew Lemon, she used to tell me just how much he hates Hedgehogs and how horrible he is! And now, thanks to you, I'm stuck with an Echidna who could stab me in my sleep?!"  
  
In that moment, Sonic was scared that Shadow would throw him over the edge when he spoke.  
  
"W-Well... Will you do it?"  
  
Shadow paused, then sighed, his shoulders relaxing. "Fine, fine," he said, starting to get up. "You're lucky we're both from ARK or I would've already killed you."  
  
Sonic chuckled nervously as Shadow walked past him back towards the balcony and into the apartment, leaving Sonic to let out a sigh of relief. Then the blue hedgehog couldn't help but grin.  
  
These next few weeks would be priceless. 


	18. Chapter Seventeen The Calling

**Disclaimer: Sonic The Hedgehog and all related characters are copyright to SEGA. Athair the Echidna was originally copyright to Sonic Archie Comics and Sonic Underground. I changed him a lot, but they still get credit. Lemon the Echidna, Tenchi the Hedgehog and all related characters that don't belong to SEGA belong to me, Zeldafreak-Vikki and my friend, Alyssa the Bat!  
  
Well, about Hope's End. That turned out to be someone I actually know and it's been dealt with. Hopefully, things will go back to normal. Geh. Anywho, there's going to be a mixture of comedy along with the action as Shadow deals with Athair and Lemon on one side and Yami (who becomes more dangerous everyday) on the other. Heh, I'm so evil. ahem And I'm gonna focus on Arashi a bit more, because I wanna show just how cool his character is! And sorry this is a bit late, I've been busy what with Christmas coming up. Anywho, on with Chapter 17!  
  
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN - THE CALLING**  
  
"SHADOW! HURRY UP, WE GOTTA OPEN IN FIVE MINUTES!"  
  
Sonic growled as he impatiently waited for Shadow to open up the café for the day. He had learned the hard way that Shadow was a very heavy sleeper and it always took him a long time to get up in the morning. But sometimes that helped, even though he'd never tell anyone. For the past twenty minutes, Sonic had had the chance to simply stand there and organize all of his confused thoughts.  
  
First of all, there was the mind-attack on Shadow. Arashi hadn't said a word about who had done it and why. He knew asking wouldn't help as Arashi wanted Sonic to remember ARK on his own, which was quite frustrating for someone as impatient as himself.  
  
Arashi was definitely hiding things from them. Even after a whole year of staying with them, he barely ever talked about himself. Most of the time, people usually forgot he was in the room, standing there, silent as the grave. At first, it was because his limited emotions tormented him with sadness and pain, which he always kept bottled up. But once he had learned happiness, Sonic had been hoping his new father would tell him more about his mysterious past.  
  
But it hadn't been so. In fact, he seemed even more secretive these days. What was the deal?! Didn't he trust Sonic enough to tell him anything?!  
  
"SHADOW!" screamed Sonic, becoming even more frustrated. His yell echoed in the quiet morning air so loudly that flock of birds lit from a nearby tree, scared out of their little minds.  
  
But it had served its purpose. Shadow grumbled as opened the door, stepped out stiffly and shut it behind him, sending a piercing glare down at Sonic, who simply glared right back. Obviously the black hedgehog hadn't forgotten about Sonic's bold little decision-making spree from the night before. And when Shadow was angry with someone, he didn't forget about it.  
  
The haggard-looking hedgehog yawned as he began to step down the stairs towards Sonic, going extra-slow to rub in whatever guilt could be found. Sonic's ears folded back as he clenched his teeth, feeling the anger already. Judging from how Shadow looked, he was going to get violent soon. Better try to straighten this out, he thought.  
  
"Aw, c'mon, Shad," he said, trying to steady his voice. "You're not still mad at me, are ya?"  
  
Shadow stopped where he was, halfway down the staircase. His red eyes narrowed dangerously.  
  
"Look," he said, his voice scratching in his throat. "You're lucky enough I didn't kill you last night, you STUPID-BLUE-IDIOT!" Sonic gulped, half-expecting Shadow to suddenly attack him. "And I'm not going to restrain myself next time, even if you and Amy-!"  
  
BAM!  
  
Sonic gasped as he watched the wall next to Shadow blow up, accompanied by the sound of a gun being fired. The black hedgehog stood there, stupified as pieces of wood and brick fell around him, his eyes very wide. If he had taken one more step...  
  
"Argh, I was right!" yelled a terrible voice from inside, with a heavy accent. "It's a hedgehog!"  
  
Shadow gulped and leaned forward, looking inside. In return, a shotgun poked out and pointed straight at his chest. He looked down at the threatening barrel aiming at his beating heart, then looked up into the eyes of an echidna. A very old and dangerous echidna.  
  
"Y-You must be Athair."  
  
"Pop, how many times do I have to tell you! The hedgehogs and echidnas are friends now!" yelled Knuckles as he sat across from his grandfather, them being the only customers in the café on this quiet day, although the atmosphere was quite tense.  
  
"It woke me up!" replied Athair angrily, pointing an accusing finger at Shadow, who tried not to look up as he wiped the bar counter clean. Sonic stood beside him, trying his best not to laugh as he organized several glasses.  
  
"I'm gonna toss out the garbage," murmured Shadow, heading for the back-door. Sonic watched him go, an eye-ridge raised in confusion.  
  
"But there isn't any garbage...Shadow?"  
  
Shadow practically gasped as he finally breathed fresh air. They were heading into the last week of summer and the weather was beginning to cool down, especially with all of the rain that had been soaking Station Square lately. He closed his eyes as he felt the cool wind run through his quills and tried to forget about all of the problems and worries that weighed him down. If this kept up, he knew he wouldn't last much longer. How could he end all this?  
  
"Ahh... Where is it...?"  
  
Shadow opened his eyes and looked over as his ears picked up the sound of a troubled voice. On the sidewalk by the small street behind the café kneeled an echidna that looked even older than Athair and much more dangerous. Shadow was just about to run inside when he realized that the troubled outsider was feeling around with his hands for his cane, which he had dropped a metre away from where he was searching for it.  
  
He was blind. Just like Tenchi.  
  
"Ohhh, where are you, you stupid cane!" grumbled Arthur as he continued to feel around. He was very surprised when he felt a hand grip his shoulder and tried to jump away.  
  
"ARGH! Who's there!" He was about to wave his fists at the stranger when he felt his cane placed into his hands. He calmed down and very carefully felt out the hand on his shoulder. No spiked knuckles and no sign of any nails. Not human, not echidna.  
  
"A hedgehog...?" He got to his feet and looked in the direction the hand was coming from. "Is-Is that you, Tenchi?"  
  
Shadow blinked and recognized that voice as Arthur's, the one who had taught him to read Braille when he was Tenchi. He allowed himself a smile and replied with a simple, "Mm-hm."  
  
"Well, Tenchi! Glad to hear you're okay! That Knuckles kid said you were dead or something!"  
  
Shadow chuckled. "Nah. It was a close call but I'm alright. What're you doing here?"  
  
Arthur scratched his head as he spoke. "Ahhh, that girl Lemon said Athair would be here. I wanted to visit but she had to stop at some store or something, I dunno. So I got a bit lost. What're you doing here?"  
  
"I work here at the café."  
  
Arthur's misty eyes seemed to smile on their own. "You remember who you are then?"  
  
"Yeah," replied the hedgehog, keeping an eye out to make sure no one was listening. "I can even see you now."  
  
Arthur grinned. "Ah yes, I knew you'd find your way. Lemon will be happy to hear thi-"  
  
"No! You can't tell her!"  
  
There was a silence as Shadow felt his face burn. Arthur raised an eyeridge, then burst out laughing and slapped Shadow's back much harder than necessary. While he laughed, the poor hedgehog led his friend into the café, where he quickly made him promise he wouldn't say a word to Lemon and sat with Athair and Knuckles and began speaking to them in their native language, which made both Sonic and Shadow stare. But they were distracted when the door opened and Lemon walked in.  
  
On reflex, Shadow yelled and quickly dove behind the bar, knocking over several glasses, one hitting Sonic's foot.  
  
"OW!!! Why, you-!"  
  
"Sonic?"  
  
Sonic looked up and came face-to-face with Lemon, who was watching him with a puzzled expression. He smiled and kicked Shadow, then leaned forward on one elbow, hoping she wouldn't notice.  
  
"What can I do for ya, Lemon?" he asked, trying to sound as casual as possible, hiding how nervous he felt for Shadow if she found him there.  
  
"Sonic," she said, sounding both shy and frightened. "Is Tenchi here? Tenchi the Hedgehog?"  
  
"Uhhh..." Sonic grinded his teeth, not liking how he would answer. Lying was something Sonic tried to avoid and even though he had a reputation for being sneaky, he wasn't the best liar.  
  
"Well... Tenchi..." Out of the corner of his eye, Sonic saw Shadow running his finger aross his throat, warning him not to mess this up. "Tenchi's... not around anymore..." He tried his best to look sad, although the guilt made him want to smile and say it was all okay, that Tenchi was right behind the counter. But he knew that would be near-fatal.  
  
Lemon's eyes seemed to become very watery in the silence that followed. She sniffled and cleared her throat, wishing her tears would go away. "Oh..." She looked up into Sonic's green eyes. "What happened to him?"  
  
Sonic threw a fake sigh and leaned forward, looking very serious. "It was the most tragic event I've ever seen in all my years of adventuring. Poor Tenchi sacrificed his very life to stop a crazy monster, which tried to kill us and use an ultimate power for his own selfish gain!" Sonic made several dramatic gestures as he spoke, making Knuckles and Athair stare while Arthur listened with a grin. Shadow himself slapped his forehead, knowing where this was going.  
  
"G-Go on," said Lemon, completely hooked. Sonic continued on, trying his best to sound tragic. "After a spectacular fight to the death, we thought we had won until the monster used all of his remaining strength to throw a giant piece of metal at us! But Tenchi, using his supersonic senses, anticipated the move and pushed me out of harm's way... only to meet his own untimely end as it crushed his spine." He lowered and shook his head, his conscious laughing as Shadow blushed from his hiding place. Lemon gasped and leaned forward, all of her attention focused on Sonic. "And then-?"  
  
"And then," continued Sonic, forcing himself to work up some tears in his eyes. "I ran to my fallen comrade, hoping to save him, but he said it was too late-" He paused here, pretending to sob as if reliving some horrible memory. "I asked him, 'What can I do, Tenchi?' and he replied, 'Tell Lemon that I lo-'"  
  
"YOU NIMROD!" Sonic was cut off as Shadow came out from his hiding place, jumped up into the air and kicked Sonic right in the side of the face, sending him into the wall. The black hedgehog landed on his feet angrily and was about to shout when Lemon cut in.  
  
"Hey! Who do you think you are, interrupting our conversation like that!" she shouted, vexed that she could not hear the rest of the story.  
  
Shadow looked to her and his gaze softened considerably as their eyes met for the second time. Lemon was taken aback by his stunning red eyes, which made her heart skip a few beats. Shadow gulped as he blushed and faced her completely, Sonic, rubbing his head and grumbling, forgotten on the floor.  
  
"I, uh, I'm sorry," he said nervously. "I'm sure he was telling a great story and all but-"  
  
"Whatever! Who are you?" interrupted Lemon impatiently.  
  
Shadow paused, then spoke, feeling his voice shake from his heart beating wildly in his aching chest.  
  
"My name's Shadow," he said. "I live upstairs."  
  
"Upstairs?" Lemon blinked. "Oh, you're the one who let Pop stay with you! Thanks a lot for that! It really helps us out, y'know?"  
  
"Uh, yeah," he said, chuckling nervously, happy that her anger was gone.  
  
Lemon smiled. "Well, thanks, Tenchi, I'll-" She stopped, realizing her mistake.  
  
"Uh, Tenchi?" asked Shadow, pretending to be confused by this.  
  
"Tenchi? Did I say Tenchi? I meant... uh, sorry, what's your name again?"  
  
Inside, Shadow felt as if he had just shattered into a million pieces.  
  
Arashi the Hedgehog tried not to draw attention to himself as he walked through the crowded downtown area, his hands behind his back. He could've used his speed like Sonic usually did, but he didn't like panicking Humans and making a big fuss. So he simply walked at a hurried pace, Shadow's long coat flowing behind him gracefully. Arashi had received an urgent call to go to a nearby pay phone and, thinking of that law set up by the Humans, had stolen his friend's coat, or as he liked to put it: "borrowed without permission."  
  
He came to the pay-phone, wondering who would want to meet with him. He didn't have any friends outside of Sonic's group and barely ever went into the city except for helping Amy get groceries and other such duties. He stood there for several minutes, watching people walk by until the phone began to ring. He looked up and suddenly realized he was too short to reach the receiver. He jumped up, trying to reach it but realized there was no way he was going to even get close to touching it.  
  
A teenage boy paused, seeing the Hedgehog and his dilemma and picked up the phone. Arashi stopped his futile jumping and looked to the boy as he passed the phone to him. "There you go," he said.  
  
"Thanks," said Arashi, taking the phone.  
  
"Heh, no problem, shorty!" With that, the boy walked on, laughing. Arashi watched him go, then, making sure no one was watching, allowed his yellow eyes to glow as he made a spark catch onto the boy's pant-leg, causing small flames to sprout up. With some satisfaction, he watched the boy panic and run, screaming for help.  
  
"That wasn't necessary," said Matt Haruna over the phone, his voice familiar to Arashi.  
  
The hedgehog shrugged, knowing Matt was watching him. "Humans need to be disciplined sometimes. That includes you and your little friend, Haruna."  
  
The old man laughed. "Sonic sure opened your eyes, huh? You could use some more positive emotions but we can talk about that later. Right now, walk into the restaurant across the street from you. We need to talk."  
  
Arashi listened as the dial tone sounded, signaling Haruna had hung up. He looked up and simply left the phone hanging there, not wanting anymore Humans to do so much as even look at him. He walked into the small Chinese-style restaurant and quickly spotted Matt Haruna, sitting there with a young woman, who wore a hood over her head to hide her face. Ignoring the nearby waiter, Arashi walked up to their table and, not waiting for an invitation, sat down, feeling like an inferior child as the two Humans seemed to loom over him.  
  
"Well, Arashi, good to see you after so many years," said Matt, sipping some tea. He had changed, no longer the excitable and slightly dim teenager Arashi remembered but a wise old man, still strong despite his old age. The light blue hedgehog leaned his elbows on the table as best he could and his suspicious gaze wandered over to the woman.  
  
"Who are you?" he asked, not bothering to be polite.  
  
The woman smiled as she lifted her head and slowly pulled back her hood, revealing her pretty face. She had beautiful peach-colored skin and her blue eyes and blonde hair reminded Arashi of an angel. A certain angel from ARK, that is. She smiled as his eyes widened.  
  
"Maria," murmured Arashi, unable to hide his shock. "You're alive!"  
  
Maria nodded, turning solemn. "Yes," she said. "And the Hatian Cells have kept me young, although I'm older than you, Arashi."  
  
Matt grinned as he set his teacup down. "Well, Maria here has been very interested in you projects ever since Shadow was released from GUN's base on Prison Island. And what with Jigoku still alive, we figured it was time you all were reunited."  
  
"Reunited?" repeated Arashi, the very thought making his flesh crawl. "You want the Ultimate Life-Form to rise? Maria, do you realize how dangerous that is? The life-form itself has enough power to destroy the Earth! Do you want that?"  
  
Maria was silent for a second as she thought, a sad expression on her face. "I don't want that," she replied. "But... The Ultimate Life-Form... My grandfather's treasure. I can hear it in my head, urging me to release it. And the more I refuse, the stronger it gets."  
  
"The calling of the Ultimate Life-Form," said Matt, remembering his secretive and confusing work with Gerald Robotnik all of those years ago. "It's in your programming for it to call you to it's will. I can't blame you for giving in, Maria."  
  
"Giving in?" Arashi paused, putting two-and-two together. "Wait, if you've given into the programming, that means it was you who released Yami from GUN's underground base!"  
  
Maria nodded, not bothering to deny it any longer. "Yes. I thought he was imprisoned with Shadow on Prison Island, so we were relieved when we learned that Yami had been taken into the underground base for an experiment."  
  
Arashi watched Maria speak and felt a great pity for her. Here was this beautiful woman, free of the prison-like colony, only to find a new one inside her own mind. The Ultimate Life-Form was getting impatient and had chosen her to use as it's servant. Arashi, being one of the most psychic projects, heard it speak to him in his sleep but he had a greater will to resist it, knowing how much havoc it would wreak on the world. He couldn't let the terrible dream of Professor Gerald come true.  
  
"So, why did you bring me here? I already know all this," he said, getting annoyed.  
  
Matt adjusted his glasses, a serious look on his face. "We need your help, Arashi," he said. "I know you don't want the Ultimate Life-Form to rise and we won't force you. But if you don't give us a hand, Yami will kill Shadow and destroy the rest of us, one by one. We need to prevent this."  
  
"So what do you want me to do?" asked Arashi, keeping his face straight. Maria held up a small earpiece, built for hedgehog ears. "Put this in your ear. That way, we can listen to all that's going on with Shadow, Sonic and you. We can even talk to you and you can reply, but don't tell the others because Sonic still doesn't even remember all of this and there's enough in his memories alone to put him into shock. As for Shadow, he's a big threat right now." A great concern glowed in her eyes. "Has he been acting suicidal at all lately?"  
  
Arashi thought for a minute, then nodded. "Typical for him, he figures now that he has no purpose, he has no reason to live. Sonic did us a favor there and offered that Shadow share his place with a guest, so he hopefully won't try to kill himself in the next month."  
  
"Ok, good, we're safe there," said Maria. "As for Yami, he has the Chaos Emerald I used to release him and he'll be gathering the rest. He won't try to take yours, Arashi, but that'll leave him with six so be ready for the worst. Don't let Sonic anywhere near him once he reaches his full power. It's up to Shadow to end the fight they started long ago."  
  
Arashi wanted to protest but before he could open his mouth, it started. The more he talked to Maria, the more he heard that voice, which begged that he would obey. He struggled to fight it, but his will just wasn't enough. He sighed as he surrendered, feeling like a traitor to Sonic and Shadow.  
  
"I will do as you say." 


	19. Chapter Eighteen Taken

**Disclaimer: Sonic The Hedgehog and all related characters are copyright to SEGA. Athair the Echidna was originally copyright to Sonic Archie Comics and Sonic Underground. I changed him a lot, but they still get credit. Lemon the Echidna, Tenchi the Hedgehog and all related characters that don't belong to SEGA belong to me, Zeldafreak-Vikki and my friend, Alyssa the Bat!  
  
Sorry for the hold-up, I'm on Christmas vacation at my grandma's and she's on dial up, which makes it much more difficult to update things (and all the visits with my cousins slow me down too). I may start 19 but if I don't before the 25th, MERRY CHRISTMAS! Now, Chapter 18!!!  
  
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN – TAKEN**  
  
Shadow sighed as he closed the door, having finally closed the café for the night. He hung the keys by the door and started to wander towards his room. His thoughts lingered on Lemon's voice, asking that same question over and over again.  
  
"What's your name again?"  
  
He stopped in front of his door and clutched his chest as he felt a terrible pain in his heart. He had expected this, that Lemon wouldn't recognize him. But he had secretly hoped that she would somehow know that he was indeed Tenchi. He shook his head at his own stupidity and opened the door, knowing that his dreams would never become reality. He gazed inside and remembered when he had stopped Amy from going into his room. On his desk and beside his bed, there were dozens of papers, all piled up messily. And every single one of them started with the same words: 'Dear Lemon,'  
  
After reading her letter to Tenchi, he had spent many sleepless nights attempting to reply, to somehow put his confession down on paper. Alas, it was easier said than done. Every time he tried to write down his feelings, it always sounded stupid to him after he read them over. He guessed writing wasn't included in his programming, which was quite unfortunate.  
  
He took one step into his room, just thinking of what to do with all of the papers when a very heavy piece of wood came down onto his head, knocking him face-down into the floor, stars flashing before his eyes. His ears rang as a now familiar voice screamed above him.  
  
"You stupid hedgehog," yelled Athair, waving his wooden cane around angrily. "I thought you were a burglar or something!"  
  
Shadow groaned as he slowly got up, rubbing his throbbing head as he managed to make it to his knees.  
  
"Uhhh," he mumbled, expecting a headache in the morning. "Sorry, Athair, I forgot."  
  
"Do not call me by my name, you disrespectful whelp!" snapped the old echidna. "You will call me "Sir", got it?!"  
  
The sore hedgehog got to his feet, nodding. "Okay, okay, fine," he said. "Whatever you want, Ath-..."  
  
There was an uncomfortable pause as Athair tapped his foot and glared. Shadow tried to get his stunned vocal cords to work correctly before he got himself hurt again.  
  
"...I mean, sir."  
  
"That's better," said Athair. "Now, it's late and I need sleep. I want the bed." He gestured to Shadow's bed, which was the only one in the apartment.  
  
Shadow didn't like the sound of Athair going into his room, especially with all of those papers. "Uh, I was going to set up the couch for you...sir."  
  
Athair turned fully to Shadow and gave him another icy glare, making the whole room turn cold. He gulped, his own red eyes nothing but a spark compared to the iceberg before him.  
  
"I-I meant..." he paused, cringing at the words forming in his head. "I'll set up the couch for myself! Yeah..."  
  
"Oh good! Now stay quiet and see you in the morning! And if I wake up because of you, I might just change my mind about shooting you!"  
  
Shadow nodded, showing he understood, then grimaced as Athair shut the door. He sighed and went over to the nearest couch, flopping down onto it. He could feel the springs poking through after being used for so many years and Shadow almost hoped that one would somehow impale him and put him out of his misery. Forever.  
  
It seemed like a nice idea at the time.  
  
"He's sleeping," said Yami, perched atop one of the nearby buildings. His eyes may have had no visible pupils, but his vision was very good. He could see where Shadow was lying on the couch, rather miserably, and where a stranger was sleeping in his bed. He didn't let himself be distracted by this change. He had to keep his mind focused on his mission to kill his most hated rival.  
  
"Can't we break into his mind now that he's asleep?" he asked, looking over.  
  
Starr appeared, transparent as a pair of fairy wings. She hoped her brother wouldn't be angry with her answer.  
  
"No," she replied, cringing. "The most we can do is a dream at this point but it'll all break when he wakes up. And he's too aware during the daytime now."  
  
"So we'll have to go with your idea from before," finished Yami, his mysterious eyes narrowing. "This will prove to be most interesting."  
  
Starr looked to Yami, her pearly eyes shining emotionally. "Oh, Yami, do we really need all of this violence? Must we bring Shadow such sadness after all he's been through?"  
  
Yami gazed into her frightened eyes dangerously. "The Ultimate Life Form will rise sooner or later. Its calling becomes louder in my head everyday. Arashi and Neo will eventually succumb to it. Even though Jigoku is sealed away on ARK, he can probably hear it in his mind too. I don't know who that seventh is but they're probably hearing it as well. I'm just guessing, but it might've been them who freed us in the first place."  
  
He paused as Starr sat in mid-air, hugging her knees in close. Since she had no possession over her own body, her spirit could do whatever it wanted, except go away from Yami. He shook his head at her sickening innocence and continued.  
  
"But Shadow is a threat to us. He is the only one of us who can resist that great voice. He'll even go so far as to kill himself to prevent it all from happening! Do you want Shadow to kill himself, Starr?"  
  
Starr shook her eyes vigorously, her eyes wide in fear. Yami crossed his arms over his chest. "Then help me to stop him before something bad happens."  
  
The young spirit nodded, gulping. "I'll tell you anything. Just don't let Shadow kill himself!"  
  
Yami nodded. "Yes, yes, I will prevent him committing suicide at all costs."  
  
And he thought out the rest of the sentence, where Starr couldn't hear.  
  
'I'll kill him instead.'  
  
The next morning, Athair hummed as he went through Shadow's room, looking through all of his drawers and his surprisingly organized closet. So far, he had learned that the hedgehog only owned one drawer's worth of clsothing, which he saw were barely used. He skimmed through the rest of the cabinet, finding that Shadow had an interest in electronic devices after finding several modified gadgets. Then there was one drawer that held some photos. Athair hesitated, then picked up a very old photo, which was black and white. A young blonde girl looked up at him, smiling and hugging a completely black hedgehog close. The hedgehog himself was smiling shyly, pretending to put up a fight and making her laugh. There was an upside-down white triangle on his forehead and his quills were bent upwards. He flipped the photo around, reading the back.  
  
"Shadow,  
  
While I was looking up The Ultimate Life-Form for the government, I found this. I think it belongs to you now.  
  
-Rouge"  
  
Athair wondered if that hedgehog in the picture was Shadow when he was younger. It was difficult to imagine, Shadow actually smiling. He seemed like such a cold creature. The old echidna guessed something terrible must've happened to him. Funny, he almost felt sympathy for the stupid hedgehog. But it quickly left as he heard his new roommate fall off the couch, groaning as he woke up. Athair quickly grabbed one of the pieces of paper and walked out, fully-dressed in his usual tribal robe, his beads clicking together around his wrinkled face.  
  
Shadow opened his eyes and realized for the first time that he had fallen off of the couch. He looked up to see Athair upside down and blinked a few times, waiting until he could see him clearly. He wished he didn't have to look at such an ugly thing first thing in the morning.  
  
"'Morning," he said groggily, his head pounding from Athair's attack the night before.  
  
Athair simply gave him one of his mean looks and walked along into the kitchen. Shadow sighed and got up, reminding himself to stay quiet in all future encounters with Athair. He waited until the elder had left the kitchen to get his own food. He couldn't help but feel his pride being ripped up into little pieces as he was forced into this kind of life.  
  
Down in the café, Knuckles had come in early to make sure Shadow was still alive. Accompanying him was Arthur, who had learned Shadow's story from Knuckles on the way over. He knew how Shadow was feeling about the whole dilemma with Lemon and went up to see how he was holding up.  
  
"Tenchi?" he called, walking in and closing the door. Shadow looked up from where he sat in a chair, holding a knife that Athair had left in the room while making breakfast. He had been deciding whether to use it or not and you could say it was good timing for Arthur to come in and stop him.  
  
"My name isn't Tenchi anymore, Arthur," he said, putting the knife back on the table, his hand shaking slightly.  
  
Arthur smiled as he felt out a seat across from Shadow. "Yes, I know," he said, sitting down. "Knuckles took the liberty of telling me what happened. You've been through quite a lot, haven't you?"  
  
"Yeah," replied Shadow, leaning back. "I guess I'm lucky to still be in one piece."  
  
"Mm hm," said Arthur, leaning his elbows on his knees. "Then please tell me, what were you planning to do with that knife?"  
  
Shadow cursed inwardly. He should've known Arthur would've spotted that. Now he had to make up some kind of excuse.  
  
"Uhhh..." he began, looking towards the knife. "I, uh, I mean Athair left it out and I was just gonna go put it back..." He winced at his feeble attempts to lie.  
  
"Riiight," replied Arthur. He may have been blind, but over time, he had learned to 'see' emotions. "Is there something wrong? Anything you want to tell me?"  
  
Shadow paused. Telling someone just how he felt would be a good idea. He felt very stressed, as if his chest was going to explode. Telling Arthur would be harmless enough. But at the same time, if he told one of his friends that he wanted to end his life, he would try to stop him. Or even worse, he'd tell Arashi or Sonic, who would know what was really going on! He couldn't afford something like that to happen...  
  
"No," he said. "There's nothing wrong, Arthur. Thanks for the visit, though."  
  
Athair sat in the café, staring at one of the papers he'd snatched from Shadow's room. He would have added it to his blackmail collection, had it not been addressed to his own granddaughter.  
  
"Boy!" he yelled, squeezing his fist around the paper.  
  
Knuckles looked up from where he was talking with Sonic and Arashi. He got up and walked over, the two hedgehogs watching interestedly.  
  
"What's the matter, pop?" he asked lazily, knowing his grandfather was angry. He flinched slightly as Athair stuck the paper in his face. He took it, annoyed and began to read it.  
  
"Dear Lemon,  
  
I've missed you more than anything. It was a close call, but I'm alive. Knuckles must've thought I was dead before he left. It's a long story.  
  
I've been living on my own but I've kept in touch with the others. I've been thinking of you so much lately. There have been a lot of problems coming up. I won't bore you with details but it's getting bad. I want to see you again, but at the same time, I worry. I've changed so much since the last time we spoke. But I still-"  
  
It ended there, the rest of the phrase erased. But Knuckles could just make it out.  
  
"-love you."  
  
The red echidna cleared his throat as he lowered the paper, looking to Athair and attempting to smile as if amused.  
  
"Wh-where'd you find that, pop?"  
  
"The hedgehog's room," he replied, crossing his arms. "And wipe that smile off your face! You knew about this, didn't you?!"  
  
Knuckles cringed and felt a few sweat drops run down the side of his face.  
  
"Kn-know about what?" he asked feebly. Sonic slapped his forehead.  
  
"About that hedgehog and Lemon, you moron!"  
  
"That idiot," grumbled Sonic, shaking his head. "I hope Shadow doesn't find out about this."  
  
"Find out about what?" asked a small voice in Arashi's ear. It was Maria, listening through the earpiece.  
  
Arashi used his telepathy to reply. 'It's no big deal. Just a girl Shadow likes.'  
  
"Ooooh! A crush!" giggled Maria. Arashi rolled his eyes and was about to give her a lecture on maturity when Arthur walked in, a worried look on his face. Athair paused and looked to his fellow elder as he sat down. Knuckles blinked.  
  
"What's the matter, Arthur?" he asked, hiding the letter behind his back. They didn't need anymore people reading it.  
  
Arthur's blind eyes looked up to where Knuckles was standing and even Arashi and Sonic could see the worry filling them up.  
  
"I think your new roommate is suicidal, Athair."  
  
"Another Chaos Emerald was stolen from a Swiss bank today, who wishes to remain anonymous. The description of the thief fits the same reported from the five other thefts that have baffled the police! Even detectives and the forensics department couldn't find anything! Stay tuned for more details."  
  
Lemon watched the evening news with mild interest. She switched it to "mute" as the commercials came on.  
  
"Hey, Amy!" she called. "There was another theft!"  
  
Amy walked in from the kitchen, taking off her oven mitts. "Are you serious?" she exclaimed. "That means whoever the thief is has six Chaos Emeralds!"  
  
Lemon nodded. "They're pretty good. Whoever's doing this must be pretty desperate for some power. Do you know where the last one is?"  
  
Amy nodded. "Sonic and Arashi keep one. They've had it since last year."  
  
"Oh yeah, they mentioned it before. Let's hope this emerald thief doesn't bug us."  
  
Amy shuddered at the thought. "That would be scary."  
  
"Indeed it would be," said a voice. Lemon gasped as Amy whirled around. There stood Yami, laughing at their fear. The pink hedgehog sprang back and pulled her Piko-Piko Hammer out, holding it threateningly.  
  
"Who are you," she demanded, her teeth clenched. "And how did you get in here?!"  
  
Yami would have grinned if he had had a visible mouth. "You left your bedroom window open. It was easy enough to climb in."  
  
Lemon stood up. "You're the one who's been stealing the Chaos Emeralds, aren't you?"  
  
"Very good," replied Yami. "You must be Lemon The Echidna."  
  
Lemon allowed herself a little grin, putting on her game-face. "You're not a complete idiot, although you look like it with your face hidden like that." She held up her fists, showing she was ready to put up a fight. "Now explain yourself before I break your face!"  
  
Yami chuckled. "Such reckless behavior. No wonder he cares for you so."  
  
"Who're you talking about?!" demanded Lemon, becoming impatient with this freak. "Why don't you just leave? We don't have any of your precious Chaos Emeralds here!"  
  
Yami shook his head. "On the contrary, you have exactly what I need."  
  
"I warned you!" With that, Lemon attacked, punching right at Yami's blank face. Yami, anticipating the move, easily grabbed her fist and squeezed it, crushing her fingers.  
  
"Ah!" grunted Lemon, trying to pull away. Amy jumped forward with the hammer and swung but was surprised to feel it hit mid-air, which felt like a solid object. Her eyes widened as a small ghost appeared, blocking the hammer.  
  
"A little girl?" she murmured, confused.  
  
"Please!" cried Starr, her eyes shining with tears as she held the hammer back. "Please don't get involved!"  
  
With that, Amy was knocked back into the wall, hitting the back of her head. She was unconscious before she hit the ground.  
  
"AMY!" screamed Lemon, trying to pull away. But Yami used this opportunity to grab her around the waist. The yellow and red echidna yelled and tried to struggle but Yami ended her futile attempts to escape by hitting the back of her head, knocking her out.  
  
"Jeez, she's a feisty one. Reminds me of Shadow, which makes me despise her even more."  
  
"Yami, are you sure about this?' asked Starr, trembling in mid-air beside him. Yami nodded his head, not bothering to look at his little twin. "Its fine, Starr. This is just to get Shadow's attention. I won't hurt the girl, I promise."  
  
And with that, they left, taking their new hostage with them. 


	20. Chapter Nineteen Who Do You Love?

Disclaimer: Sonic The Hedgehog and all related characters are copyright to SEGA. Athair the Echidna was originally copyright to Sonic Archie Comics and Sonic Underground. I changed him a lot, but they still get credit. Lemon the Echidna, Tenchi the Hedgehog and all related characters that don't belong to SEGA belong to me, Zeldafreak-Vikki and my friend, Alyssa the Bat!  
  
Okie, it's been awhile, hasn't it? First of all, MERRY CHRISTMAS and A HAPPY NEW YEAR! Second of all, my excuse for not updating lies within the fact I renewed my site (Purpleanime, click on my name to see it and you can get info on when I update too) and I started a manga. The reason I'm telling this is because two of the main characters just happen to be Shadow and Tenchi (Tenchi being his own person). The thing is that these comics take more than TEN HOURS to make on Photoshop. Big ouch. I was up New Year's Eve all the way into the New Year making that first page. Once I finally finished it, I realized I had a fanfic to continue. Of course, then I got sick, missed three days of school AND I'm moving. ARGH! (and let's not forget Sonic Heroes) :p So, a big sorry for those who have been waiting and THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS!! (I'm never gonna stop saying that!) And now, Chapter 19!  
  
CHAPTER NINETEEN - WHO DO YOU LOVE?  
  
'Athair's going to visit Arthur tonight... This might be a good opportunity...'  
  
"Hey, Shadow!"  
  
'I'll just go upstairs, lock the door...'  
  
"Shadow?"  
  
'Maybe go find that knife...'  
  
"SHADOW!"  
  
Shadow gasped as he snapped out of it. Those voices had been bothering him again! He blinked a few times, feeling dizzy, and managed to look up and see Sonic standing there, looking concerned.  
  
"Hey, man, are you okay?" asked the blue hedgehog.  
  
Shadow nodded and pulled the key out of the doorknob, locking up the café for the night. He put the keys away and sighed shakily, suddenly feeling sick.  
  
Sonic touched Shadow's shoulder, noticing his friend's face had turned very white.  
  
"Hey, what's the matter? You look a little pale."  
  
Shadow shrugged as if he didn't notice, although he was feeling worse and worse by the second.  
  
"Just tired," he said. "Athair's been keepin' me up."  
  
"Hm..." Sonic wasn't so sure. "Well, since Athair's out, do you wanna come over? Besides, Lemon's there."  
  
One of Shadow's ears twitched in annoyance at the taunt.  
  
"Sonic, for the last time..."  
  
As Shadow and Sonic began to bicker at each-other, Arashi watched from a few feet away, leaning back against the outer wall of the café, his arms crossed over his chest.  
  
"Arashi? Arashi!" called Maria's voice in his ear.  
  
'What is it?' replied Arashi telepathically.  
  
"Matt looked you all up on radar," she said, sounding worried. "Yami stopped at your apartment and is headed for the Northern Mountains!"  
  
Arashi blinked. 'Why would he go to our apartment? I keep the Chaos Emerald with me.'  
  
"I don't know but he was there for only a few minutes and I think he took something or someone, we can't really tell from here!"  
  
Arashi cursed and looked towards Sonic and Shadow.  
  
"Sonic!"  
  
Sonic looked up in time to see Arashi run at full-speed and grab his hand. Before he knew what was happening, he was being pulled along towards their apartment. Shadow followed close behind, running at medium speed. Sonic managed to find his feet and came up next to Arashi, who was just a bit slower than him.  
  
"Dad! What're you doing?!" he yelled.  
  
"Something's not right..." mumbled Arashi, not knowing how to explain how a human in his ear was giving him information.  
  
They got to the apartment and Arashi slammed the door open, running in. Sonic followed and his eyes widened when he saw Amy lying by the wall, knocked out. Shadow followed suit, worry blocking out his terrible thoughts.  
  
"Amy!" he yelled, running to her. "Amy!!! Amy, wake up!" He gripped her by the shoulders and shook her gently. She groaned and slowly opened her eyes, looking up at him.  
  
"Sonic... sorry..." she whimpered, still disoriented from the hard impact to her head. "H-He got her..."  
  
"Who're you talking about?" he asked, feeling a sense of panic coming on.  
  
"Lemon," replied Arashi, looking to where the window was still open. "Yami has Lemon."  
  
Arashi would never have guessed how much of an impact those three words had on Shadow in that one moment. His red eyes widened as he started forward, worry the size of the ARK coming down on him.  
  
"Lemon?!" he exclaimed, feeling his heart beat faster and faster. "Are you sure?!"  
  
Arashi nodded. "I knew Yami would try something like this."  
  
"How the hell can you be so calm?!" yelled Shadow, looking like an angry ghost. "We gotta go save her!"  
  
"Shadow, don't be so reckless," said Arashi, keeping calm. "We can't just run in there and fight someone as powerful as Yami! He's much stronger than any of us while he and Starr are connected!"  
  
"I can beat him!" said Shadow. "He has six of the emeralds, right? If I bring the seventh..."  
  
Arashi shook his head, cutting him off. "No way," he said firmly. "Sonic told me what happened last time you tried that! Your body can't tolerate that kind of power! It'll kill you!"  
  
"So what!" yelled Shadow. "He'll kill her if I don't go!"  
  
"You don't even know that for sure!" retorted Arashi, starting to become angry. "You'll play right into his hands if you go to him with the last Chaos Emerald!"  
  
Shadow growled and began to fight back. Sonic and Amy watched, amazed. Amy let a small smile play on her lips as she fully sat up, beginning to feel better.  
  
"Go after her."  
  
Arashi and Shadow stopped and looked to her, Arashi looking surprised.  
  
"What did you say, Amy?" asked the older hedgehog.  
  
Amy smiled. "Go after her, Shadow."  
  
Shadow blinked in shock, then allowed himself a little grin. Amy obviously understood how he felt. He looked to Arashi, who reluctantly handed over the Chaos Emerald, looking both confused and angry.  
  
"They're headed for the Northern Mountains," he said stiffly. "You're being very foolish, Shadow, but I cannot stop you."  
  
Shadow ignored his last remark and headed for the open window. He looked to Sonic and Amy one last time, then jumped out into the darkness. Arashi shook his head as he watched the black hedgehog go.  
  
"Why would he risk his own life over one girl?" he asked, bewildered.  
  
"It's called love, Arashi," replied Amy, still smiling. Sonic simply blushed as he helped her up, deciding not to comment.  
  
Outside, Shadow ran faster and faster, gaining speed. After his scars had fully healed, Rouge hadn't been certain if he'd ever be able to run again. So for the past few months, he had been forced to walk and only run for short distances. And he had to admit, that one time he had run through that desert for half the night, his scarred legs had ached horribly afterwards. But now that Lemon needed him, he didn't hold back.  
  
"Let's hope you were wrong, Rouge."  
  
***  
  
Lemon groaned as she came to. The first thing she noticed was the wind howling in her ears, which didn't help the headache pounding in her head. Neither did the crunching footsteps heading towards her...  
  
Wait. Crunching footsteps?!  
  
Lemon opened her eyes and gasped, sitting up. She was in the middle of a blizzard! She stared around as the thick snowflakes rained down around her, then looked down at herself. She was sitting there in her pyjamas, which was basically a white tank top and a small pair of black shorts she usually wore to bed. And the shocking thing was that she was warm.  
  
Breathing slowly and deeply to keep herself from screaming at the top of her lungs, Lemon stood up, feeling her red legs shaking in shock. That strange echidna had hit her so hard! One hand over the bump on her head, she looked all around and as her vision fully returned, she began to realize that the snow was pink. But not just the snow; everything.  
  
"I'm trapped!" she exclaimed. The yellow echidna yelled and quickly rammed her shoulder into the strange pink wall that was before her. It was like a big sphere surrounding her. A prison. She backed away and tried again. And this time, it made her realize that her fingers were broken.  
  
"Owwww!!" She leaned back against the hard yet warm wall and slid down the wall, collapsing. Why did she feel so weak?!  
  
"Hello."  
  
Lemon blinked and looked up. Floating there just outside of the sphere was the ghastly little Starr, her white fur making her practically invisible against the snow. Lemon bared her fangs as she stood up, glaring.  
  
"You!" she growled, her anger flaring up. "What's happening to me?!"  
  
Starr's sadness deepened. "I have your mind under my control..."  
  
There was a small silence as Lemon raised an eyeridge. "Uh huh... Alright, kid, quit foolin'. Just what-"  
  
Starr shook her head and raised on hand towards the older echidna. Almost immediately, Lemon gasped as images of different people she knew appeared around her. She stared around at them as they surrounded her, then looked back to the strange ghost before her.  
  
"Wh-What is this?!" she demanded.  
  
Sonic, Knuckles, Tails...  
  
"I have extracted these people from your memories..." replied Starr, speaking as if she were a robot.  
  
Rouge, Athair, Amy...  
  
"You have no right looking into my mind, you little freak!" yelled Lemon, shaking with fear and embarrassment. "Those are MY thoughts, not yours!"  
  
Starr paused, her eyes showing how confused she was. When she spoke, her voice was barely audible. "But Yami said it would be okay..."  
  
"It's not okay!" said Lemon, shaking her head. "That's invading my privacy! Whoever this Yami guy is, he was wrong!"  
  
Starr blinked. "But my big brother is never wrong..." Her little white lips began to tremble as the big voice in her head began to argue.  
  
[Starr... Don't listen to Yami...]  
  
'But I must!' she thought. 'I must listen to big brother...'  
  
[But he wants to kill Shadow! Listen to the girl! She knows him, I promise. Go on and ask her.]  
  
Starr blinked. Whoever that voice was was really smart! But was it right?  
  
"Miss Lemon?" she asked, coming in closer, her quills swirling around as Lemon's thoughts circled the two of them. "Who is the one you love?"  
  
Lemon blinked. She had never been asked anything so critical in her entire life! She paused, then took a deep breath.  
  
"Well... I guess I like...I like..." She growled as she tried to get it out. Why did this have to be so hard?! She clenched her teeth, hesitated, then blurted it out.  
  
"I Like Tenchi!"  
  
"Tenchi? Who's that?!"  
  
Both girls gasped and looked up to see Yami standing there, stepping towards them. Lemon glared and tried to conceal how weak she felt. She couldn't let this creep see that. "None of your business!" she snapped, her blue eyes glinting.  
  
Yami chuckled, his blank face sending shivers down Lemon's spine. "Well, I'm afraid it must be, Miss Echidna. Starr, show me who this 'Tenchi' is."  
  
"'Kay, Yami!" replied Starr, happy to help. She lifted a single finger and an image of Tenchi came up, making Lemon blush deeply.  
  
"What a strange-looking hedgehog," commented Yami, his tone cold and insulting. "If I'm not mistaken, this is the one that Jigoku reported to us not too long ago, isn't it, Starr?"  
  
"Looks like it," squeaked Starr, staring.  
  
Yami couldn't help but laugh as he brought up another image, this one from his own mind. Lemon watched as the image came up right in front of her. She squinted her eyes and recognized it as her grandfather's new roommate. Oh! What was his name again?  
  
"Shadow the Hedgehog," said Yami, unknowingly answering her question. "Last time I saw him, he was being imprisoned by the GUN soldiers. I've just learned he befriended some old 'friends'. Now, Miss Lemon, watch closely."  
  
Lemon's eyes followed the image of Shadow as it floated towards the nearby image of Tenchi. Lemon gasped as they merged into one, pointing out all of the similarities between the two.  
  
"Th-That can't be!" she stuttered, having never even considered the possibility. "Tenchi was blind and acted nothing like that Shadow guy!"  
  
Yami shook his head. "If I'm right, something big happened to Shadow. An accident of some sort that caused his body to restart. Almost like you would restart a computer. This would have caused him to lose all memories, almost all color and a few senses."  
  
Lemon blinked. "H-His fur was white..." She felt her chest heave as she remembered to breathe. "Oh my God..."  
  
Starr watched as Lemon collapsed to her knees, tears falling down her cheeks. For a few seconds, she almost felt sorry for this girl. But Yami said she should not get involved. And she should listen to Yami. Right?  
  
"Ha ha ha! Now you see! In fact, Shadow's headed straight for us but I highly doubt he will survive the blizzard! No project could survive extreme weather after being restarted!"  
  
Project? Oh yes, Amy had explained how Sonic had come from some sort of space colony. That must be where the others were from too! Lemon leaned back away from Yami, against the sphere's wall.  
  
"You must really hate him," said Lemon, feeling both very tired and very angry. "But I can promise you he'll come! Tenchi never broke his promises and neither will Shadow!"  
  
"Hmph!" replied Yami, raiding an eyeridge. "Those are big words for a little girl like you!"  
  
Lemon felt herself shiver as Yami's terrible voice stabbed her in the chest. Was her bluff really true?  
  
'Please come... Shadow...'  
  
Author's Note: I just wanted to say SORRY again for this being so late! I feel really guilty but I hope this chapter makes up for that. Expect a nice big fight in Chappie 20. ;) 


	21. Chapter Twenty It Ends Tonight

**Disclaimer: Sonic The Hedgehog and all related characters are copyright to SEGA. Athair the Echidna was originally copyright to Sonic Archie Comics and Sonic Underground. I changed him a lot, but they still get credit. Lemon the Echidna, Tenchi the Hedgehog and all related characters that don't belong to SEGA belong to me, Zeldafreak-Vikki and my friend, Alyssa the Bat!  
  
Author's Note: Ok, I openly give permission to you guys to yell at me for taking so long with this one. I just hope it's okay; this whole move I had to go through threw me off a bit. But now I'm fully settled in and my new computer is fixed now (I didn't have any good WordPad programs before). ; And now, without further ado, Chapter 20! (And to make up, I'll try to get the next one done quickly)  
  
CHAPTER TWENTY - IT ENDS TONIGHT**  
  
Yami flexed his knuckles as he stood up on a nearby cliff, waiting. A few feet behind him, Lemon hugged her knees close as she sobbed, unable to hold back the tears any longer. Floating by the young echidna's prison was Starr, her big eyes shining with confusion. Yami looked back at his sister, sensing her uneasiness.  
  
"Starr," he said, telepathically. "Tell me your thoughts..."  
  
Starr's little transparent body tensed up as she looked up at him, her eyes going blank. Her thoughts projected before her, just like she had done to Lemon before. Images of Shadow the Hedgehog, both younger and older, swirled around in a mini-vortex, merging in with images of Yami and his inferior form, Shade.  
  
"Interesting... you're dwelling on the past, even after I took control of your mind... There's only one way you could resist my powers..."  
  
Starr's little face suddenly glowed with a smile, full of mischief and cleverness.  
  
"You can't hold me much longer, Yami," echoed her voice, which was now doubled with a much more mature voice. Yami gasped as he recognized the older voice accompanying Starr's.  
  
"Shuri," he growled, outraged. Shuri was the older version of Starr, resembling what Yami was to Shade, except that her powers were much greater. When he had taken control of his sister, Yami had hoped Shuri would stay asleep, but she had obviously been awakened at the mention of Shadow.  
  
Shuri laughed. "Oh, Shade, you're so cute sometimes!" she exclaimed. "Always trying to act so big!"  
  
Yami's fists clenched as his anger reached a new height. "My name is Yami, you little witch! And I WILL be the Ultimate Life-Form!!"  
  
Starr's eyes lingered to where the Chaos Emeralds were lying, melting all the snow around them. Six...? Where was the seventh?  
  
"...Oh no..."  
  
Shadow the Hedgehog growled as he fought against the snow, which was up as high as his neck. If he hadn't called up the power of the Chaos Emerald to melt it all, he would've already died from the cold. However, calling up that power for more than ten minutes took up a lot of energy and Shadow wasn't sure he'd be able to keep it up for much longer.  
  
That dark thought was accompanied by another one: 'What if Yami wins?'  
  
'H-He can't win!' thought Shadow angrily, clenching his teeth as he glided as fast as he could. 'He can't! I don't care if I'm all alone in this, I can do it! I don't need anyone's help!'  
  
CRACK!  
  
Shadow gasped as he suddenly fell, landing face-first in the snow. The Chaos Emerald flew from his hand and landed a few metres away, losing its glow. Shakily, he looked behind him and cursed as he saw that his rockets-shoes had finally reached their limit. They sparked and crackled several times, then stopped altogether. Shadow let his head hit the snow, panting as the failure and defeat sank into his numb brain.  
  
'No... I can't... move...'  
  
He choked on a sob as he lay there, shivering and defeated. He should've known he couldn't win against Yami. For the first time in fifty years, Shadow the Hedgehog cried.  
  
And then he was lost.  
  
Staring endlessly. That's all he ever did. Ever since he had first set eyes on this world, he did nothing but stare. Some thought he was curious. Others figured he just didn't have the motivation to move.  
  
Probably both were right.  
  
One night, he was simply sitting there, staring at the wall when the automatic doors opened. There stood an echidna. Little did he know this echidna would soon be his enemy.  
  
"Hey, Shadow!" said the echidna, his voice full of malice. "You may act like a brainless hedgehog but I know you've got some fight in you! Why don't you come face me and prove yourself to Maria?!"  
  
Shadow's ears perked at the name. He blinked and looked up at the echidna.  
  
"Alright, Yami," he said, his eyes narrowing.  
  
Yami blinked. He never expected Shadow to actually speak. Then again, anything was possible after Gerald Robotnik himself, in attempts to call up their true powers, had aged them by ten years.  
  
They walked down to the one empty room on the whole colony, which was a laboratory that was shut down after Arashi's death. But now it would finally be put to good use again.  
  
The scars... It was Yami who had given them to Shadow all those years ago. And unless he acted now, that hateful echidna would win again.  
  
"Grrrrrr...!" With his last few ounces of strength, Shadow reached out his hand. His eyes glowed bright red as he commanded power from the Chaos Emerald before him. As it began to glow brighter and brighter, he suddenly knew just what to do.  
  
"Chaos Emeralds," he rasped, his voice almost completely gone. "I don't care what happens to me...! Just help me save Lemon!"  
  
Yami looked over as his little collection of Chaos Emeralds began to glow. Starr's eyes widened and Lemon looked up, bewildered.  
  
"Wh-What's going on? What's wrong with the emeralds?!" she demanded, standing up.  
  
Yami's eyes narrowed as he fully faced the glowing jewels. "What the- ?"  
  
He was cut off as something appeared out of mid-air and kicked him squarely in the back, knocking him off his feet. Both girls nearby gasped and stared as Super Shadow landed on his feet, moving too fast for either of them to fully see him. Yami got to his feet and chuckled, barely affected from the kick.  
  
"Well, well, Shadow!" he said in a taunting voice. "I never imagined a weakling like you making it this far! Feeling scared?"  
  
Shadow allowed himself a grin, knowing Yami was ready to finish the fight they had started fifty years ago.  
  
"That's it, I'm goin' after him!" said Sonic, reaching for the door. However, before he could twist the handle, Amy had latched onto his arm.  
  
"Noooo, Sonikku! That echidna was dangerous!"  
  
Sonic tried to pull away, blushing. "Amy! Lemme go! Hey!"  
  
Arashi watched from the window, then sighed and shook his head. "I'm not even touching this one..."  
  
"Arashi," said Maria in his ear, sounding distressed. "Shadow just went Super! You've got to help him!"  
  
'There's nothing we can do about it now,' answered Arashi telepathically.  
  
KNOCK! KNOCK!  
  
"Hm?"  
  
Everyone in the room looked up and gasped in pure shock as a familiar friend stepped in, solving their problem.  
  
Yami punched as hard as he could, sending powerful vibes through the air. Super Shadow yelled as it impacted him in the head, sending him sliding back on his feet. He was lucky to be in Super form, or else his skull would have been crushed. He knew he'd feel it later, but he didn't have time to worry about that now. He ducked as Yami threw another punched and lunged right for the echidna's stomach, tackling him.  
  
Lemon watched as the battle continued. She gulped and looked to Starr, who was simply floating there, smiling. "H-Hey, kid!" she yelled. "Can't you be useful?! Get me out of here!"  
  
Starr giggled as she began to bob back and forth, being driven slightly mad by all of the Chaos power in the air. "All in good time," she squeaked. "When one falls down, you'll go free!"  
  
Lemon slapped her forehead. "Oh man, what did I do to deserve this?!"  
  
"Lemon!" yelled Shadow, dodging Yami's attacks as best he could. "Wake Shuri up! She can save you! Ahh!" Yami finally knocked him off his feet as he hit him right in the stomach. Shadow doubled over, wincing, then gasped as Yami kicked him in the face, sending him onto his back.  
  
Lemon looked over to Starr and blinked. Who was Shuri? That little kid?! Oh well, it was worth a shot.  
  
"Shuri! Shuri, get me outta here!" she screamed, smacking her fist against the wall of her prison.  
  
Starr's eyes blinked and looked over at her. "Get you...out?"  
  
"PLEASE!! C'mon, you stupid kid!"  
  
Yami laughed as Starr simply looked away, distracted by a big snowflake. "Shuri cannot be awakened unless I die! And I'm afraid you're the one who's going to die, Shadow."  
  
The platinum hedgehog cursed as Yami gripped around his neck and lifted him off his feet. "Too bad you've become such a weakling," he said. "It would've been better if you had died when you fell. Oh well, I guess I'll get the pleasure of killing you. Goodbye."  
  
With that, Yami began to squeeze his fist around Shadow's neck, beginning to break it. Shadow yelled and braced himself for what was about to happen...  
  
"SHADOW!"  
  
Everyone looked up to see a plane hovering up in the air above them. Shadow chuckled wearily as he recognized it as the Tornado II. And hanging off the side there, a ring clenched in his fist, was Sonic.  
  
"What the-?! Neo!" cried Yami. "What the hell is he doing here?!"  
  
Sonic pulled back, then threw the ring with all his might. It sailed through the air, then finally dissipated into Super Shadow's body. He grinned as a flood of power overtook him. There was no stopping him now.  
  
He gripped Yami's wrists and snapped them easily, being released and landing on his feet. Yami groaned and pulled away, unable to use his hands anymore. Super Shadow laughed as he gathered up all of his strength, causing a golden aura to surround him. He put his hands up over his head and gathered the power in his palms. Yami, completely overwhelmed, fell back and could only stare as Shadow gathered up the last of the power and looked down on him.  
  
"Time to let Shade live his life," he said, grinning. "See ya, Yami."  
  
With that, Super Shadow threw the power straight into the ground, causing the whole area to explode.  
  
"Sonic, do you see anything?!"  
  
"Not a thing, little buddy!"  
  
Miles "Tails" Prower sniffled as he looked around, the storm finally over. After staying and learning plenty from their friend Tank, he had decided to come home to see his friends again. Sonic was grateful he had come with the Tornado II, equipped with plenty of rings to spare. But they hadn't expected Shadow to pull a suicide attack. Sonic grunted as he dug through the snow as fast as he could. Then he yelled as a hand reached up and pulled on one of his quills.  
  
"Gaaahhhhh! Get it off!" He jumped up and pulled out a white echidna girl from the snow, who was looking quite terrified. Both Sonic and Tails stared with wide eyes as she stood there. She was probably between sixteen and eighteen and... she wasn't wearing anything...  
  
"What? What's the matter with you two?!"  
  
Sonic covered Tails' eyes, not knowing what else to do at the moment.  
  
Behind them, Shade yelled as he burst from under the snow, gasping for fresh air. Right beside him was Shadow, completely unconscious. Over his shoulder was Lemon, struggling to get free.  
  
"Let go of me, you freak!" she screamed. Shade shrugged and put her down. He now had his full face back and he was much shorter, which made Shuri giggle. Shadow groaned as he woke up, sitting up stiffly.  
  
"Ohhh... wha...?" He looked up to see Lemon kneel down next to him. "Lemon..."  
  
"Shadow... Or, should I say Tenchi?"  
  
Shadow gulped. "S-So you know...?"  
  
Lemon nodded. "Why did you hide from me?" Strange, she didn't sound upset...  
  
"Well..." Shadow tried to sit up a bit more to prevent himself from passing out. "I, I guess I didn't want you to be mad at me..."  
  
Lemon paused then smiled. She hugged Shadow in close, making the two of them blush.  
  
"S-So, you're not mad...?" murmured Shadow weakly.  
  
Lemon pulled away and for a few moments, she didn't do anything. Then she growled and punched Shadow right in the face, knocking him out again. Shade even looked scared as Lemon's anger flared to extreme new heights.  
  
"Of course I'm mad, you big jerk! I thought you were dead!"  
  
Sonic chuckled nervously as him and Tails watched her continue. "Well, she's Knuckles' sister alright."  
  
"Wow, she sure looks angry!" said Tails, trembling. Shuri came up behind them and tapped Sonic on the shoulder.  
  
"Um, excuse me, are you Neo?" she asked, finally starting to grasp what was going on. Sonic went completely red and froze on the spot. Tails shook his head.  
  
"Oh, Sonic..."  
  
After-Note Thing: Wow, I planned that for so long and I finally wrote it all out! I was thrown off because of my parents' dicorce. I'll try to get the next chapter done quickly! ; 


	22. Chapter Twenty One Apologies

**Disclaimer: Sonic The Hedgehog and all related characters are copyright to SEGA. Athair the Echidna was originally copyright to Sonic Archie Comics and Sonic Underground. I changed him a lot, but they still get credit. Lemon the Echidna, Tenchi the Hedgehog and all related characters that don't belong to SEGA belong to me, Zeldafreak-Vikki and my friend, Alyssa the Bat!  
  
Author's Note: Well, 3rd term of school has started. I passed Term 2 okay but this last term is gonna be a bit harder, especially since this is when my French and Socials teachers like to torture us the most. And that means I'm going to have to really work hard, especially when exams come around. I'll still try to keep this up but if my updating slows down, that's why and I'll have to wait 'til after my current school project or exam is done. But I'm sure I'll be able to keep up with everything (unless my teachers are planning something bigger than the mega project they just dumped on my head). Aside from that, THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS!! Now, Chapter 21! (keep in mind I was a mixture of tired and hyper when I wrote this chapter) :p  
  
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE – APOLOGIES**  
  
"Look, Shadow! That's Earth down there. Isn't it beautiful?"  
  
"I guess so..."  
  
"What's the matter? You don't look very happy..."  
  
"I, uh... It's nothing, Maria, don't worry about it."  
  
"Wha-? Who're you callin' Maria?!"  
  
Shadow's eyes snapped open as he recognized Sonic's voice. He looked over and saw the blue hedgehog sitting there beside him, looking very annoyed and tired, with his arms crossed and some very heavy bags under his eyes. Shadow himself was lying on a couch, covered with a blanket. He took one look around the room and recognized it as Rouge's living room. He stiffly sat up and blinked, one of his eyes feeling very sore.  
  
"Shouldn't I be dead right now?" he asked, his throat as dry as sandpaper.  
  
Sonic smiled and shook his head. "Shuri and Shade healed you with the Emeralds, although I'll bet Shade would've rather finished you off."  
  
Shadow chuckled. "Well, that means he's back to normal... Ow..." Slowly, the black hedgehog reached up and rubbed over his eye slowly, which he began to notice, was only opening halfway. "Wha-?"  
  
"Don't you remember?" asked Sonic, suddenly looking cautious.  
  
Shadow's hazy memory took a few moments to recollect everything, but when they did, Shadow wished he could have had Amnesia all over again. He groaned at the memory of Lemon's reaction to seeing him again and fell back onto the couch, his arm hiding most of his face. Sonic sighed.  
  
"Hey, man, it'll be okay," he said, trying to sound reassuring. "I mean, she'll get over it sooner or later."  
  
Shadow shook his head. "It's hopeless... I should've died last night... Would've saved me the misery." With that, he turned over and lazily threw the covers over his head, not wanting to look at anything at the moment. Sonic reached up his hand to stop Shadow from hiding but thought better of it. He knew Shadow was feeling pretty upset and he couldn't blame him. That black eye probably hurt him on the inside more than on the outside.  
  
The uncomfortable silence hanging in the air was suddenly broken as two little echidnas rushed in. Sonic looked up to see Shade and Shuri hurry in, closing the door and sighing with relief. Sonic grinned as they walked up to him, happy to not have to deal with Shadow at the moment.  
  
"Escaping from Rouge's wrath, huh?"  
  
Shuri nodded, folding her hands together politely. "I hate to say it, but Miss Rouge is overreacting! I don't see why she was so angry with you, Neo!"  
  
Sonic chuckled nervously at being called by that name. "Uh, Shuri, it's okay to call me Sonic, I kinda go by that now," he said, smiling. "And as for Rouge, I guess she was just worried for you."  
  
Sonic's mind was saying something much different. Quite honestly, Rouge was angry at both Sonic and Tails for not doing anything about Shuri standing there, naked. At first, Sonic thought it was because of the snow, which was a bit absurd since Shuri barely needed it, being a project and all. Then he had realized that Rouge thought he was a total pervert. Sonic had no idea what to say to that. At least Amy didn't agree with Rouge, saying that they didn't have any clothes to cover her with in the first place but the sexist bat wouldn't listen. Sonic left himself a mental memo to avoid Rouge in the next few days.  
  
At least now Shuri was wearing some clothes, borrowed from Lemon. She was wearing a yellow T-shirt and a little black skirt that just went past her knees. Shade was different from last night too. Since Yami was now destroyed, Shade's face had been restored. Sonic saw that Shade had deep red eyes, almost like Shadow's, except instead of being warm and understanding, they were cold and accusing. Either than that, he had the usual features of an echidna except for one little thing...  
  
"Wow, Shade, I don't mean to be rude, but you're a bit shorter than I remember," said Sonic, looking down on him as he stood up. The little echidna growled, baring his fangs.  
  
"Don't talk to me, you stupid hedgehog!"  
  
Shuri rolled her eyes. "Shade, don't be so loud. I think Shadow's asleep..." She tried looking past Sonic. Sonic looked back at the mess behind him. "Don't ask me. Honestly, I don't think he's in the mood to talk."  
  
Shuri still came to beside Shadow, concerned. "Shadow?"  
  
An annoyed groan responded. Shuri stared. "Oh dear..."  
  
Shade shrugged and turned to leave, not wanting anything to do with the situation. On his way out, he glanced over to Arashi, who was sitting by the door, doing absolutely nothing. Shade stopped walking.  
  
"Hey, Arashi," he said, as casually as possible. "Does Shadow know what really happened?"  
  
Arashi looked over to him, a mixture of sadness and anger on his face. "No. And it had better stay that way, or else we are all at risk."  
  
Shade heaved a sigh and walked along, arguing with that familiar voice in his head.  
  
"I just talked with Sonic," said Rouge, walking in. "Him, Amy and Arashi have just gone home."  
  
Lemon looked up from where she was lounging in a chair. "And those two little echidnas...?"  
  
Rouge sat down across from Lemon. "They've gone to stay with Sonic as well. So it's just the three of us."  
  
Lemon leaned back in her seat, giving no indication that she had heard the word "three". Rouge sighed and leaned forward, showing that she wanted to talk.  
  
"So," she said, trying to start a conversation. "I guess you wanna stay here again?"  
  
"If it's alright," replied Lemon, her tone slightly colder than usual. Rouge hesitated, then spoke.  
  
"Of course it's alright with me, I'm gonna need some help anyway." She waited for Lemon to react to this, which she did. "Help with what?"  
  
"Well, you know Shadow," said Rouge, ignoring Lemon's bitterness towards the hedgehog. "Knuckles and Sonic were telling me that he's been acting a bit depressed lately. And your friend Arthur said he found him with a knife so I want to keep him here for awhile, see if we can cheer him up."  
  
"I guess," said Lemon, some of her cold attitude melting at this news. Tenchi – no, Shadow – was acting suicidal? What could drive him to something so serious?  
  
"I think I'll go check on him," said Rouge, getting up from her seat. "You wanna come?"  
  
Lemon paused, then got up from her seat. Even she couldn't stay mad forever.  
  
The two girls walked through the now silent house. Neither of them spoke, absorbing the evening air. It helped to calm them down after all of the excitement of Lemon's kidnapping. Lemon herself hadn't cared so much. Maybe she was still in shock? Or maybe she felt so safe and confident about Shadow that she hadn't felt so afraid.  
  
They came to the living room and Rouge approached the couch where Shadow was lying, still covered. She sat down on the stool where Sonic had been sitting earlier and very gently pulled the blanket down a little so she could see his head. He had turned away from her direction, facing the back of the couch. At first, he didn't move at all and Rouge assumed he was asleep. Then he groaned and moved a little, opening his eyes and glancing up at her.  
  
"Hey," said Rouge, smiling a little. "Glad to see you're awake."  
  
Shadow slowly rolled onto his back and sat up, rubbing his sore eye. Lemon stayed back, watching him from afar. She felt too guilty, facing him with that black eye she had inflicted upon him. Rouge stood up. "Are you hungry?" she asked Shadow.  
  
Shadow paused, then shook his head. Rouge gave him a very skeptical look and Lemon raised an eye ridge. Shadow hadn't eaten a thing for the past night and day and his skin was already turning pale. However, Rouge didn't fight it. If Shadow didn't want to eat, she wouldn't force him... yet.  
  
She turned to leave and while passing by Lemon, whispered to her.  
  
"Now's your chance," she said. Lemon looked after the bat, bewildered. What did that mean?!  
  
Shadow sighed as he collapsed back onto the couch and stared up at the ceiling. Lemon hesitated, then slowly approached him. When she saw that he chose to not even look at her, she sat down beside him. And in that moment, she felt as if things were back to normal.  
  
"Shadow," she said, not completely looking at him, but not looking away either. Her insecurity led her to crossing her arms as she began. "Look, I, uh, it was really wrong of me to get so mad at you..."  
  
A huge silence fell on the two of them for a long time. Lemon internally yelled at herself for even trying to talk to him and for sounding so stupid. Shadow glanced over at her hunched back. Against his better judgment, he sat up, not wanting this to go any longer. At the same moment he spoke, so did she.  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
Lemon smiled and let out a little chuckle. Then she hugged him, in a much warmer sense than before. Shadow sighed with relief, glad she wasn't angry. He would've never wanted to tell her, but he felt like an empty shell without her. She suddenly pulled away and Shadow noticed she was blushing a little. Was he blushing too?!  
  
"I, uh... I really missed you..." she muttered, her face burning. Shadow gulped, his chest throbbing. A strange feeling was flooding his brain. Was this...?  
  
She moved in a bit closer, her hand slowly touching his shoulder lightly. He hesitated, feeling as if in that moment, he was paralyzed, then found himself and reached his arm gently around her back, bringing her in close. She took a shuddering breath and, finally fulfilling her dreams, kissed him. She even smiled a little.  
  
At that moment, the door slammed open, making them jump. But what was standing there was even more frightening than the sound.  
  
"HEDGEHOG! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"  
  
Athair. Shadow clenched his teeth, knowing he was in for a world of hurt. Lemon, seeing him cringe, stood up, giving her grandfather a severe look.  
  
"That's enough, pop!" she said firmly, shocking everyone in the room. "If you lay one hand on Shadow, I'm never talking to you again! I'm serious!"  
  
Athair opened his mouth to argue but no words came out. He was stumped. Lemon grinned, knowing she had nailed him. Unlike Knuckles, Lemon could actually stand up to her grandfather. Athair growled as his anger went through the floor.  
  
"I'll be keeping my eye on you, hedgehog," he growled, then turned and left. Shadow remembered to breath as the room's air became less tense. But he knew he'd have to watch his back for the next few weeks.  
  
Would he survive?  
  
Author's Note: Oh yes, will he survive? Ah well, at least Lemon and Shad are VERY friendly now. I wasn't gonna let them stay apart. Sorry I'm kinda slow, I had to write this in parts to get it done because of all the homework I've been getting. Do my teachers WANT to kill me?! ( 


	23. Chapter Twenty Two One Left

**Disclaimer: Sonic The Hedgehog and all related characters are copyright to SEGA. Athair the Echidna was originally copyright to Sonic Archie Comics and Sonic Underground. I changed him a lot, but they still get credit. Lemon the Echidna, Tenchi the Hedgehog and all related characters that don't belong to SEGA belong to me, Zeldafreak-Vikki and my friend, Alyssa the Bat!  
  
Author's Note: Okay, the big reason this took so long is because I started drawing a comic of Sonic's Shadow. Why? I dunno, I felt like it! Well, Eshbaal made some fan pages of it so he was kind of an inspiration there. I'm almost done the Prologue, which is already 12 freaking panels long! I'll be posting them on my deviantART account as I go along, as well as my site. (you can click on my name for the URL!) So, yeah, now for Chapter 22!  
  
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO – ONE LEFT**  
  
Maria Robotnik felt her whole body shake with fright as she walked down the street, wearing her usual jean outfit and a pair of sunglasses. She was so nervous, she barely heard Matt Haruna talking in her ear.  
  
"The café should be around the corner, Maria!" directed the old man, feeling almost as nervous as Maria. The night before, the two had decided that it was time to finally approach the other projects. The Ultimate Life- Form's voice was becoming stronger and stronger, and its impatience flowed through Maria. It was starting to become unbearable. That's why the determined girl had to do this. It was her only hope to rid her of that terrible force.  
  
She turned the corner and walked up to Sonic's café. She couldn't help but smile at how cute it was. She gazed up at the second story and, just as Arashi had foretold, the windows were dark. Shadow the Hedgehog wasn't home. Maria grinned.  
  
"Perfect."  
  
The doors opened, breaking the warm silence in the café as the little bell above the door rang. Sonic, who was sitting behind the bar-table, bored out of his mind, finally opened his eyes sluggishly. It was such a slow day; he was surprised anyone had walked in at all. The bigger shock was that it was a human. Oh well, Sonic couldn't complain. He stood up as the young girl walked up to the counter, sunglasses hiding her eyes. He blinked as he observed this girl, with her short blonde hair and worn out clothes. She looked like any other human girl and yet... something about her made Sonic feel very unsettled. Like when he had first encountered Tenchi...  
  
"C-Can I help you?" asked Sonic, suddenly trembling. He gulped, trying to keep his hands steady.  
  
The girl smiled, giggling slightly. "Well..."  
  
"YOU!"  
  
Both the girl and Sonic jumped as Shuri stood in the door, her eyes wide. The human turned to face the now teenage echidna. Following behind her was Shade, who tried to shove past his sister to see what was going on. As soon as the two were inside, the door closed and all was silent. Sonic felt a chill run down the back of his neck as Shuri stared to the girl, who simply stared back through her sunglasses. Sonic blinked, confused.  
  
"What's the matter, Shuri?" he asked. "You're not supposed to yell at customers like that!"  
  
"That's no customer, Sonic," said Shuri, disbelief written all over her face. "That's..."  
  
The human girl sighed and pulled off her sunglasses, looking to Sonic. And immediately, the blue hedgehog knew. It was the same blue eyes he remembered seeing almost nineteen years before.  
  
"Maria!"  
  
Maria smiled shyly, glad he recognized her. "Oh good, you know me."  
  
Sonic blinked, suddenly confused. He DID know her but... how? And just what was Maria Robotnik doing there anyway?!  
  
"I thought I KILLED you!" growled Shade, who was burning with anger.  
  
"Well, you came close, Shade, but the Hatian cells in my blood made me a bit tougher than that," retorted Maria, who simply crossed her arms.  
  
Sonic was barely listening to the conversation. He was busy staring at Maria and wondering why he felt like he knew her so well. She glanced back at him as Shade and Shuri left to find Arashi and noticed his staring. She smiled and leaned her elbows on the table, making Sonic lean back to give her room.  
  
"Amazing that you recognize me, even after we erased your memory," she said, ignoring his noises of confusion. "Well, Sonic, you don't remember your childhood, right?"  
  
Sonic paused, then nodded slowly. He had always felt very sensitive on this subject, especially whenever Tails or Knuckles talked about their own families. It was a little depressing not remembering anything before simply waking up in the forest one day, knowing nothing but his name and having one sole purpose: 'Protect the Earth.'  
  
"Do you want to know where you came from?" asked Maria, not sure if he really wanted to know. What if he'd hate her for it?  
  
His reaction was quite the opposite though.  
  
"YES!" yelled Sonic, suddenly standing up. Then, going a little red, sat back down, mumbling a quick "sorry". Maria chuckled.  
  
"Well, you'll remember that Matt Haruna was a scientist who worked with Gerald Robotnik back on the ARK. He was one of the survivors of GUN's raid. He's actually the one who saved me. While the soldiers were taking things from the laboratories for investigation, I snuck in while they weren't looking and grabbed you. Then Matt and I smuggled you onto Earth."  
  
Sonic blinked, taking this all in with shocking calm. "So," he began, registering all of this information into his brain. "Why do I only remember back a few years?"  
  
"Well," replied Maria, "You really were asleep for about 40 years. We didn't see any need to awaken you and begin the Ultimate Life-Form's awakening. But then, almost twenty years ago, my cousin began terrorizing Station Square."  
  
"Eggman," clarified Sonic.  
  
Maria nodded. "Yes. I knew he'd try to use our grandfather's weapon sooner or later, so we decided to awaken you. Matt and I raised you as a normal hedgehog, training you to be strong and recover from your long sleep. Once you were about sixteen years old, we left you to go out on your own... I'm sorry..." Maria gulped, scared of how Sonic would take this. He looked down.  
  
"So... you just left me," he repeated, his voice shaking slightly.  
  
"Y-Yes," replied Maria, afraid of his anger. "But, we kept an eye on you and Matt made you the tornado to help you explore!" She gulped, not getting an answer to her excuses. Then she realized he was grinning. "Sonic?"  
  
"Well! That answers my question! And here I was thinking I was all alone!" laughed Sonic, grinning as usual. It really was a big relief that he actually had an origin and he actually had people who cared for him. It was that big relief that caused a tear or two to appear under his eyes. Lucky for him, Arashi walked in before anyone noticed.  
  
"Maria!" exclaimed Arashi as he walked in, followed by the twin echidnas. "Decided to come out of hiding, huh?"  
  
"Well, now that you have all seven Chaos Emeralds, the Ultimate Life- Form's getting stronger... I'm sure you've all felt it..."  
  
The whole room went silent. They all slowly nodded and looked to each other. Sonic, Arashi, Shade, Shuri and Maria. Five of the seven beings who were destined to come together and create the Ultimate Life- Form. Shuri suddenly had a bad feeling and spoke her mind.  
  
"But we can't listen to it! If the Ultimate Life-Form rises, won't it cause chaos liked Professor Gerald wanted?!"  
  
Shade rolled his eyes. "Oh, c'mon, Shuri, it won't be that big of a deal! Besides, don't you wanna stop that voice from bugging you every night?! I know you hear it too!"  
  
[Heheheh... Shuri and Shade are ours!] Maria smiled, agreeing with the voice in her head.  
  
Shuri paused, then nodded, unable to fight it. Deep inside, she really wanted this to happen, but her heart was telling her this was wrong. But her heart's will was being deafened by the Ultimate Life-Form's terrible voice, telling her to listen to Maria.  
  
"Well, five of us are here. Arashi? Can you and Sonic release Jigoku? We need him too." Maria looked to Arashi, who went very white.  
  
"W-Well... I suppose we could..." he stammered, fearing the very mention of his nemesis. But the Ultimate Life-Form's will was telling him everything would be okay. And he trusted that.  
  
[Arashi as well! And wherever Arashi will go, Sonic will follow...]  
  
Maria grinned maliciously as the big portal opened, a blinding light making the whole room go white and red. Everything was going according to plan... now there was only one left...  
  
Rouge hummed as she cooked in her kitchen. Usually, Lemon would cook their dinner, but the enthusiastic bat decided to try her hand at the task. Outside of the door, Lemon and Knuckles stood there, already dreading Rouge's experimental cooking. Knuckles looked to his sister, gulping with fright.  
  
"Lemon, please tell me you'll cook something!"  
  
Lemon chuckled. "Don't worry, bro, I already made some snacks." She reached into her pockets and pulled out a little bag of food and handed it to Knuckles, who couldn't stop thanking her. The crafty echidna-girl smiled as she pulled out a second bag and started to leave.  
  
Knuckles blinked. "Where are you going?"  
  
"I'm gonna give this to Shadow. I'll bet he's hungry." With that, she was gone up the stairs. Knuckles shook his head, not approving of his sister seeing Shadow. But he knew better than to interfere.  
  
"Shadow! Hey, Shadow! I made you some food!"  
  
Lemon pushed the ceiling door open and climbed up onto the roof, breathing the cold night air with relief. The entire house filled with smoke, she now understood why Shadow had retreated onto the roof. She crawled along slowly until she found him, lying on his back, with his hands behind his head. It looked like he was watching the moon, except his eyes were glazed over with thought, reminding Lemon a little of Tenchi.  
  
"Hey, Shadow!"  
  
"WHOA!" The black hedgehog suddenly sat up, lashing an arm out behind him in an awkward sort of attack. Lemon yelled and quickly lunged sideways, dodging his attack but losing her balance, falling over and rolling right into him. Shadow choked and shut his eyes as he was knocked onto his back, the wind being knocked out of him.  
  
"Oh my gosh! Are you okay?!"  
  
Shadow coughed as he opened his eyes, which widened very quickly. Lemon was right on top of him! The two of them paused, going red.  
  
"I-I'm fine..." stammered Shadow. Inside, his heart was panicking and began screaming in terror. Shadow clenched his teeth, feeling like he was having a heart attack.  
  
Lemon blinked, noticing Shadow was turning very red. "Are you sure you're okay? You're a little red..."  
  
"I said I'm fine!" He sat up slowly and Lemon quickly got off, clearing her throat. The soft night wind whispered in their ears as neither spoke, recovering from what has just happened. Finally, Lemon spoke.  
  
"Er, I brought you these." She said, holding up the bag of food. Shadow blinked and took it.  
  
"Oh, thanks," he said, still a little red. "It looks great!"  
  
Lemon smiled. "So, what're you looking at?"  
  
Shadow sighed as he leaned back on his hands, looking up. "Just the stars. It always makes me feel better whenever I'm down."  
  
Lemon came and sat beside him. "Well, can I watch them with you? I don't want you to... feel down alone."  
  
Shadow looked to her, feeling his heart beating his chest apart. She seemed to always be there when he needed her. This girl... did he really...love her?  
  
He hesitated, then put his arm around her shoulders. He waited, wondering what she might do, then started to turn red again as Lemon leaned in against him. He gulped, trying to calm himself down.  
  
"I'd like that... a lot..."  
  
Lemon smiled and put her arm around him too. They stayed up there for a long, long time, watching the stars shimmer in the sky. Shadow wished it would last forever, but he knew that the next day, something bad was going to happen...  
  
Extra note thingy: I dunno why but this chapter was hard for me to type. It's kind of a "filler chapter" as I plan the whole Ultimate Life-Form sequence and as I draw the Sonic's Shadow comic. I promise the next chapter will be better! ;; 


	24. Chapter Twenty Three Takara

**Disclaimer: Sonic The Hedgehog and all related characters are copyright to SEGA. Athair the Echidna was originally copyright to Sonic Archie Comics and Sonic Underground. I changed him a lot, but they still get credit. Lemon the Echidna, Tenchi the Hedgehog and all related characters that don't belong to SEGA belong to me, Zeldafreak-Vikki and my friend, Alyssa the Bat!  
  
Author's Note: Oh man, we're almost done Part 2! Now you can find out what the Ultimate Life-Form is! ( would you trust that face? :p Anyway, I said before that this would be a pretty long story, so yeah, there is a Part 3. And there will most-likely be a Part 4, unless I jam Part 4 into Part 3... I'm rambling. I just hope the story isn't TOO long for you guys. Oh, and I might as well note that I'm gonna be starting my 2nd ever Sonic fanfic, Simple Shadows. (some people will recognize that name from the few test pages I did on my site). Tenchi is one of the main characters, along with Shadow, so if you like those characters, I'll be writing it pretty soon! Anywho, enough of this, on with CHAPTAH 23!  
  
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE – TAKARA**  
  
Maria Robotnik felt a panic come over her spirit as she watched helplessly. Jigoku had just appeared before them and the Chaos Emeralds were gathered in the center of the room. Everyone thought she was just Maria, but in reality, the Ultimate Life-Form was using her to gain back its full power. Needless to say, this made her very angry.  
  
"NO!!! Neo! Arashi! Don't listen to it! PLEASE!"  
  
She watched in horror as Neo looked to her, his eyes glazed over. He was already taken. The others began to go into that hypnotized state as well. Maria's body grinned.  
  
"Heheh, nobody can save you now," chuckled the Ultimate Life-Form's voice. "These five are mine. Along with you, that makes six. Now there is only one left."  
  
Maria gulped, feeling like an ice cube was lodged down her throat. "Shadow..."  
  
"That's right," it taunted. "You're going to lead me right to him."  
  
"No! NO!!!"  
  
Shadow yelled as he sat straight up, awakening from his nightmare. Panic-stricken, he stared wildly around, registering in his brain where he was and trying to catch his breath. After a few tries, he managed to calm his pounding heart, as well as stop himself shaking. He gulped as he realized he was still on the roof of Rouge's infirmary, Lemon lying asleep next to him. It was still dark out, but Shadow knew from the cool air that morning was fast approaching. He sighed, happy he hadn't awoken Lemon from her quiet slumber. The two of them had stayed up quite late watching the stars together. He blushed as he remembered her kissing him goodnight. He shook his head to keep his mind off of that as visions of his nightmare came rushing back to him.  
  
He had seen it. The Ultimate Life-Form. There was no doubt about it. He had seen all of the other projects: Sonic, Arashi, Jigoku, Shade, Shuri and... somebody...  
  
Shadow held his head in his hands as he strained to see who the last life-form was. He could definitely see it was a human but the person was so covered up, he couldn't see their face! He could hear it laughing in his ears: a terrible, mirthless laugh that filled him with cold dread. This must've been the one guilty of being possessed by the Ultimate Life- Form... the one who was causing all of this trouble. But who was it?!  
  
"Hhhhhhhhiiiiiiiiissssssss..."  
  
Shadow opened his eyes and slowly lifted his head, feeling all of his fur stand on end. That hissing noise sounded like a snake of some sort, but what kind of snake could climb up a two-story house?  
  
"SSSHHHHAAAADOOOOOWWWW...!"  
  
The black hedgehog's eyes widened as he realized that whatever being was making that terrible noise was standing behind him. Carefully, he stood up and began to turn to face it.  
  
"SSSSSTOP!" it snapped, making Shadow halt in mid-step. Its sinister voice echoed across the entire rooftop. "Insssolent Sshhadow! How dare you run from ussss?!"  
  
"Us?" retorted Shadow, ignoring the continuing hissing and turning fully to face his adversary. "I would NEVER join you-... Sonic?!"  
  
Sonic the Hedgehog stood there, looking infuriated. But something was very wrong. A strange blue light was emanating from his cobalt fur and his green eyes were full of malice. His skin had turned completely white, making him look like he wasn't alive.  
  
"Sonic! What's going on here? I thought you were all back at the café!"  
  
"Who ssssaid I was Sssssonic?" grinned the possessed hedgehog, holding up a blue Chaos Emerald. "That weakling didn't sssstand a chance!"  
  
"...oh no..." Shadow clenched his teeth as Sonic suddenly lashed out at him, going for his throat. The shocked hedgehog dodged to the side, happy his reflexes were back up to speed. The glowing "zombie" tried again and again, moving as if he was a puppet being controlled by its master. Shadow suddenly jumped back away but soon regretted it as a fist smashed into the back of his head, sending him forward onto his face. He looked up dizzily and saw that Shade was standing there, his fists clenched. He too was covered in a strange light, except his was a silver color, matching the Chaos Emerald in his hand.  
  
"There'ssss no essscape," he chuckled, awkwardly stepping forward. "You're outnumbered, Sssshaaadooowwww!"  
  
More hissing noises sounded as Shuri, Arashi and Jigoku climbed up onto the roof, all being controlled as well and glowing with the power of their Chaos Emeralds. Shadow slowly got to his feet, glaring around as they all circled him. Under one of his shoulder quills, the red Chaos Emerald glowed, indicating that all of them had been gathered. But he only saw six! Where was the seventh and final person? The one responsible for all this?  
  
"Boys, boys!" called a female voice, "Give poor Shadow some room."  
  
All of the possessed beings looked up and slowly backed away a few steps. Shadow looked around at them and his eye caught Lemon sitting there, staring. The noise must've woken her up.  
  
"Lemon! Get inside the house and stay there!" he yelled, suddenly feeling scared for her. "No matter what you hear, don't come out!"  
  
"But-..."  
  
"GO!"  
  
Lemon breathed and quickly scrambled to get inside the house, although her heart protested. She really wanted to help Shadow, even though she had no idea what was going on. Maybe Rouge would know?  
  
Shadow sighed, one more worry lifted from his confused mind. Now he just had to figure out what the hell was going on. Suddenly, a hand touched his shoulder gently. He tensed up and whirled around, raising a hand. He was about to strike, but stopped when he realized just who was standing there. In that moment, his heart froze. Nothing in the world could've prepared him for this moment.  
  
Maria Robotnik was standing there, looking down at him. She was older and her hair was completely different, but Shadow knew right away from her blue eyes that she was indeed his friend from those fifty years ago. But he couldn't bring himself to believe it.  
  
"M-Muh-Maria...!" he stammered, stepping back in shock. "C-Can't...be...!"  
  
Maria smiled, although there was a hint of sadness in her expression. "Oh Shadow, I knew you'd recognize me!" She kneeled down to his level, getting a good look at him. "It's been so long... It looks like the two of us have changed."  
  
Shadow, completely speechless, could only nod slowly. It was all starting to make sense. Maria had once mentioned something about Hatian Cells. Gerald must've done some testing on her back when she was little. And that meant...  
  
"It was you," he murmured, his eyes shining. This was all too much to handle. "It was you the entire time. You're the reason Sonic and Shade are here..."  
  
Maria frowned and stood up. "Yeah... Kinda funny, isn't it?"  
  
Shadow hesitated before speaking. Maria was acting a little strange. But it was still her all the same and deep in his hurting heart, he'd been hoping he would see her again.  
  
"I-I thought you were dead..."  
  
Maria smiled and came just before Shadow. She wrapped her arms around him, hugging him just like she always had back on the ARK... Funny, he was starting to feel sleepy...  
  
"SHADOW! SHADOW, YOU IDIOT, DON'T FALL ASLEEP!"  
  
Shadow was suddenly jolted awake as Rouge the Bat swooped down from nowhere and kicked Maria away. Shadow collapsed to his knees, suddenly feeling weakened. Rouge rushed to him, worry on her face.  
  
"Shadow! You alright?!"  
  
But before she got the chance to help him up, he was standing, his bloody eyes fixed on Maria. While she had been taking away his energy, he had seen everything. And he knew just what was going on.  
  
"Back off, Rouge. Get outta here before you get hurt."  
  
Rouge gulped and didn't dare complain. She took off into the air and headed towards where Knuckles and Lemon stood.  
  
Maria's body chuckled as a golden light surrounded it, lifting her into the air. Shadow calmly walked up to her, no longer afraid.  
  
"I should've seen it before," he yelled over the noise of the accumulating power. "You're not Maria... You're TAKARA!!!"  
  
From where they were standing, Rouge gasped. Both Knuckles and Lemon looked to her intensely, their glares demanding to know what was going on. She didn't dare take her eyes away as she muttered its name.  
  
"'Jerarudo no Takara...' Gerald's Treasure... The Ultimate Life-Form!"  
  
The golden glow intensified as a great deal of Takara's anger exploded. Shadow tried to dodge the beams of light as they lashed out at him but one snatched his wrist. He growled and pulled away, one of his fire rings slipping off. Then it grabbed his other ring! He ended up losing that as well. Then Takara took away his anklets. After that, Shadow stopped trying to struggle, and the light began to engulf him. Lemon screamed in horror and Knuckles raised an eye ridge, suddenly confused. "Why doesn't he struggle?!"  
  
Shadow shut his eyes as a terrible feeling suddenly came over him, like he was about to be violently ill. He clenched his teeth as his own power overwhelmed him and yelled as he unleashed it all, damaging himself as well as Takara. It immediately released him and he hit the ground, his whole body burning.  
  
Rouge stared as she stood with the others. "Oh God..."  
  
Speaking through Maria, Takara snarled. "Stupid hedgehog! Give it up and become one with us!!!"  
  
Shadow groaned as the rays of light grabbed him again. He made a weak attempt to get free from the rope-like rays but failed miserably once they had wrapped around his body. Lemon gasped and began to run towards the house. "SHADOW!!!"  
  
"No, Lemon!" Knuckled grabbed his sister and held her back, knowing there was nothing they could do now. Lemon continued to struggle, tears sparkling from her eyes. "Knuckles, let me go!!! We have to help him!! PLEASE!"  
  
Shadow felt a cold sensation come over his entire body as the light began to sink into his skin. He gulped as it rose up from his feet. He gasped, looking down to where his friends stood.  
  
"R-Run...Lemon..." He choked as the cold reached his chest and prevented him from breathing. He let out one last scream before the light took him completely. With the last project taken, all seven then merged into one, sending out a forceful wind that knocked over Knuckles, Lemon and Rouge and made the roof of Rouge's house collapse. The albino bat was not very happy about this.  
  
"HEY!!!"  
  
Knuckles groaned as he began to get up but Lemon was already on her feet. Tears streaked across her cheeks, she stared as a figure hidden by a blinding light jumped down from the top of the house and began to step up towards them. Seeing it approach, Knuckles jumped to his feet and Rouge stood ready for a fight. Lemon held her breath as it stopped walking, only a meter or so away from them. The light flashed brighter than ever, then slowly died down.  
  
And standing there...  
  
Author's Note: Sorry this was a bit late, I got piled up with a bunch of work that was all due today. So now it's all done with! Anywho, like the ending of this chapter?! smiles! 


	25. Chapter Twenty Four Set Me Free

**Disclaimer: Sonic The Hedgehog and all related characters are copyright to SEGA. Athair the Echidna was originally copyright to Sonic Archie Comics and Sonic Underground. I changed him a lot, but they still get credit. Lemon the Echidna, Tenchi the Hedgehog and all related characters that don't belong to SEGA belong to me, Zeldafreak-Vikki and my friend, Alyssa the Bat!  
  
Author's Note: Well, it's been fun watching people suffer from suspense. Although I'm kinda scared of some of you now. ;; But I won't hold it off any longer. You will now find out what the Ultimate Life-Form is and Part 2 will be completed in, oh, maybe another chapter? Along with that, the Prologue of Sonic's Shadow is now a comic. And so will the rest of it... eventually. You can find it on my site if you click on "Sonic's Shadow" and it's also on my deviantART. Isn't that GWATE! Oh, and I'm gonna be in Greece for 3 weeks, so in 3 weeks, Chapter 25 should be written up and another comic chapter up! Anywho, on with Chapter 24!  
  
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR - SET ME FREE**  
  
Knuckles stared with wide eyes. There was no way this creature standing before them was the Ultimate Life-Form. Lemon was too scared to realize how strange the situation was and Rouge simply looked at it as if she had been expecting this all along.  
  
Takara was female. She was a menacing hybrid with the qualities of every project. She had the ears and snout, as well as the slender limbs of the hedgehogs, with the quills of the echidnas. Her body resembled mostly Maria's, although it was much smaller and her clothing looked more like something Tikal would wear. And of course, she had Jigoku's long tail tap the ground behind her. Her feet were also similar to the raptor's, with three big toes and long, sharp toenails that scarred the ground. On her forehead, amongst scattered bangs, was the same upside down triangle that was the symbol of Gerald Robotnik.  
  
"I-It's a girl!" exclaimed Knuckles, in total disbelief. Rouge glared at him.  
  
"Why do you look so surprised?!"  
  
Lemon wasn't paying attention to either of them. She was too busy looking into Takara's yellow eyes. They may have been the same color as Arashi's, but the way they looked at her...  
  
"Sh-Shadow...?"  
  
Takara chuckled, her voice echoing each time she spoke. "Shadow's not around anymore, my dear. Maybe after I complete my mission, you may see him once more before you die!"  
  
With that, the Ultimate Life-Form unleashed its full power.  
  
Athair the Echidna yawned as he leaned his elbows on the windowsill, bored. Now that there was no hedgehog around the house to bully, things had become horribly dull. He sighed as he breathed in the morning air, feeling all of his red fur stand on end as a cool breeze passed. He wondered what his grandchildren were doing at that precise moment...  
  
"POP!"  
  
"Hm?" Athair lazily looked up at the sudden sound. His eyes widened as he realized his own grandson, Knuckles, was floating before him, covered in dirt and scratches. The old echidna abruptly stood up and a cracking noise echoed as he hit his head. "AAGH! BOY, WHAT'RE YOU-?!"  
  
"POP! MOVE!"  
  
Both echidnas yelled as Knuckles rushed in, knocking his grandfather back into the apartment, away from the window. Seconds later, Takara rammed through the entire wall, going over their heads and showering them in shards of glass. Athair stared as the deadly being shot through the opposing wall and began demolishing the entire street. Knuckles grunted with frustration as he got to his feet and began running towards it. Athair blinked as he watched him leave, stunned.  
  
Knuckles yelled as he dove through the gigantic hole in the wall and recklessly launched himself at the Ultimate Life-Form, hoping to slow it down and give Rouge some time to call up Tails and anyone else who could help. Takara laughed at Knuckles' weak attempts and punched him hard, smashing him into the pavement. Lemon gasped as she felt the earth shake under her feet from the impact. That had to hurt.  
  
"Weakling echidna," snarled Takara, wrapping her long fingers around Knuckles' neck and lifting him off his feet. "It's no wonder your race is dying out."  
  
Knuckles growled at her taunt and struggled roughly. Takara laughed as she simply squeezed, making him choke as he tried in vain to escape her grasp. How could a WOMAN be so powerful?!  
  
"HEY!"  
  
Both looked over and Knuckles grunted as the Ultimate Life-Form dropped him. Takara shrieked in anger as she grasped her shoulder, where a rather big piece of wood had been plunged into her. She yanked it out and glared over to the person who had thrown it. Knuckles looked up and gasped with whatever breath was left in his lungs.  
  
"Lemon!"  
  
The determined echidna stood ready, her fists up. "Stay away from my brother, you creep!"  
  
Takara's strong voice pounded down the street as she laughed. She began to stomp towards Lemon, her rough feet pounding the ground and reminding Lemon of her first encounter with Jigoku, back when she had been with Tenchi... She clenched her teeth as Takara reached a hand out towards her, her nails elongating into sharp claws. Lemon whimpered and cringed, shutting her eyes as she felt the very tips of the claws go against her throat. Then, it clicked.  
  
"Sh-Sh-Shadow!" she yelped, her voice catching in her throat from fear. "Shadow, it's me!! Lemon!! REMEMBER ME!!!"  
  
Takara gasped as a powerful jolt ran through her. Her yellow eyes widened as she realized one of the projects was waking up. Lemon watched in shock as Takara struggled to control herself. She blinked as the overpowered being glared up to her, her eyes glowing with malice.  
  
"Lemon...!" it said, in a voice that sounded more like Shadow's than Takara's. "You need to...stop the Chaos... Emeralds!"  
  
Takara let out a yell of frustration as she took control over Shadow once more. She lashed out at Lemon with her claws, attempting to stab at her chest. Lemon, already anticipating the move, stepped backwards, feeling the attack rush past her. She continued to dodge Takara's moves as Knuckles slowly got to his feet, finally recovered from the shock of hitting the ground so hard.  
  
"Knuckles!" yelled Lemon, attempting to punch at Takara. "Knuckles! You have to stop the Chaos Emeralds!" Then she screamed as Takara knocked her back, heading to destroy more buildings. Knuckles raised an eye ridge as he watched Lemon chase after her.  
  
"Wha-?"  
  
He looked up as he heard the sounds of an airplane passing overhead. It was Tails and the X-Tornado, with Rouge sitting in the backseat! The wily bat gripped onto her seat and began to climb up onto the edges, balancing with her wings and arms. Tails stared up at her, his eyes wide with panic as he drove.  
  
"R-Rouge! What're you DOING?!" he screamed, his tails shooting straight up.  
  
Rouge grinned, exposing her fangs. "I'm not about to wait around for Knuckles to screw this up. I might as well save them the trouble and Do It Myself!" With that, she jumped, spreading her wings and diving for the ground. The first explosion Takara has caused had made her wings quite sore, but she figured she could make this once... or could she?  
  
Apparently not.  
  
"AAAHHHHH!" screamed Rouge, suddenly losing her strength and feeling herself beginning to fall faster and faster towards the ground. She curled up and yelled, as she knew the end was nigh.  
  
"Oh GOD! I was good, wasn't I?! Okay, I'll admit it, I was bad, but STILL! How could you kill off such a pretty girl as me?! I was ready to sacrifice everybody to stop that creature and now I'm gonna die because of that IDIOT - Oof!"  
  
She blinked and looked up, her eyes brimmed with tears. Knuckles had caught her! She sighed with relief, then couldn't help but grin up at him.  
  
"Wow, that's twice you've saved my life..."  
  
Knuckles grinned, blushing slightly. "Aw, well..."  
  
"KNUCKLES, YOU MORON! QUIT FLIRTING AND HEEEEELP!"  
  
Rouge and Knuckles both looked up to see that Lemon had been crushed into a wall and Takara and her were struggling to overpower one another. And Lemon was definitely losing. Knuckles gasped as he remembered about his sister and dropped Rouge, who simply scowled, unable to get up. He sprinted towards where Lemon and Takara fought, pulling out the Master Emerald. He recalled what Tikal had taught him back when he had been in Oriental City.  
  
"The seven servers are Chaos,"  
  
Lemon screamed as Takara continued to pound her deeper into the wall. "HURRY!"  
  
"Chaos is power, and power is enriched by the heart!"  
  
Takara roared as she sent a blast of energy into a nearby building. People screamed as the entire complex began to tilt. Lemon gasped, seeing the violent creature generate another attack to finish off all the innocent people and quickly ran and grabbed hold of Takara's arms, delaying the attack. But she wouldn't last long against Jigoku's strength.  
  
"Go, Master Emerald!" chanted Knuckles, glowing with green energy. "STOP THE CHAOS EMERALDS!"  
  
Tails watched from above as Takara stopped, suddenly feeling powerless. She screeched as she tried to get free of Lemon's grasp, but she found that all of her strength was gone. The Chaos Emeralds were no longer giving her extra energy! And the projects inside of her were beginning to awaken and rebel. She panted and staggered backwards, away from Lemon, panicked. "N-No! I won't go back to being nothing!"  
  
Lemon felt a sudden pity for this creature and tried to step towards her, trying to seem gentle. "Maybe it's time that your spirit rested...?"  
  
"NO!! I-I'LL KILL YOU BEFORE I LEAVE!!!"  
  
Knuckles gasped as he saw the Ultimate Life-Form jump at Lemon, going for her throat. He began running towards them, already knowing he'd be too late.  
  
"NOO!! LEMON!"  
  
And then, from out of nowhere, Athair jumped down, swatting his cane at Takara's back. She arched backwards, feeling her entire body burn. Deep inside, Shadow was the first to fully wake up and almost immediately, he began fighting to get free. Lemon watched as Takara's whole body glowed brightly. Athair jumped down, scooped up Lemon and jumped away just as the Ultimate Life-Form exploded.  
  
It was massive. Flames and bursts of chaotic energy blew through even more buildings and Tails screamed as the X Tornado lost control and took a dive into the pavement. Knuckles was knocked off of his feet and right away, he felt blood rush from his nose and mouth from the impact. Rouge hid herself with her wings, although she was jolted very harshly and felt as if her jaw had been cracked in two. Luckily for Lemon, her grandfather was about as strong as anyone one hundred years younger than him, and they were still in mid-air when the explosion passed them by, so they remained unscathed. They watched in wonder as the Chaos Emeralds soared over their heads, separating once again.  
  
They landed just as the clouds of dust began to clear and Lemon quickly rushed to Knuckles, who was lying nearby. Athair did not follow, but simply gazed to where the explosion had been. During the blast, six of the projects had been released, but Shadow had not been so lucky. He floated there, a few inches off the ground, a strange blue energy constricting him and preventing him from escaping. Takara's voice was so loud that it sounded as if it was coming from everywhere.  
  
"Shadow! How DARE you stop me?! I'll KILL you for this!"  
  
Shadow gasped, then yelled as the last of Takara's strength ran through his body, snatching up his life force. Once it was done, the blue power disappeared and the lifeless hedgehog hit the ground facedown. He did not get up.  
  
Sonic, who had already recovered from the separation, rushed blindly to Shadow, his vision slightly blurred. He collapsed next to him, feeling as if he weighed a ton. That merge had been so exhausting... and he couldn't remember why!  
  
"H-Hey, Shad, you alright?" he choked, his voice almost completely gone. "...Shad?"  
  
He hesitated, then gently rolled Shadow onto his back. He quickly regretted it, however, when he realized that Shadow's eyes were wide open. He gasped at the sight and leaned back away from him, shocked. This couldn't be real...?  
  
"Shadow?" He lightly shook his friend's shoulder, refusing to believe the truth. "SHADOW!!! WAKE - UP!!"  
  
"Sonic, stop," muttered Arashi, coming to beside them. "Sonic! He's gone..."  
  
"NO!"  
  
Maria groaned as the sounds of Sonic and Arashi talking reached her ears. She felt so numb... What happened after Shadow broke their connection?  
  
She slowly got up, feeling some of her senses coming back to her. And the first thing she realized was that Sonic wasn't talking; he was crying. Once she was on her feet, she approached them slowly, seeing that the other projects were just beginning to wake up. She came to the two hedgehogs and then kneeled next to Sonic, who had collapsed to his knees. And then she saw why he was sobbing.  
  
"Oh no..."  
  
She came right up next to Shadow, whose eyes had been closed by Arashi. But even then, she could tell he was dead. She shakily felt his cheek, which was colder than snow, then gently lifted up his torso, hugging his head in close. His head leaned in against her chest as his lifeless arms dangled down beside him. She sniffled as she hugged him in as tightly as she could.  
  
"Oh Shadow," she whispered, tears running down her cheeks. "This is all my fault. I wasn't strong enough to resist Takara and now she's killed you!" She leaned her head in against his shoulder. It was so unfair. She had lived for too long and he hadn't lived long enough! She clenched her teeth as she thought quickly. Then it clicked. She COULD save him! But would it be enough...?  
  
Lemon gasped as she ran towards them, worried sick about Shadow. Knuckles and Rouge were busy helping Tails out of his crashed plane, but Lemon couldn't wait for them. She had to make sure Shadow was okay! As she got closer and closer, she began to notice a light glowing brighter and brighter. She came up to them, then stopped. A blonde woman was kneeling there, holding Shadow against her as a breeze ran through her short hair. Her blue eyes were shining as tears floated around her face. But she was smiling. And Lemon was sure she could hear her voice.  
  
"My dear Shadow... I've lived out my life... Now it's time for you to live yours...I'm happy... I can finally rest... and we can all be set free. Goodbye..."  
  
Lemon watched as the girl fell onto her back, her eyes closing and the light dissipating. The young echidna hurried over to them and came to beside Sonic, who was waiting to see what would happen. After a few moments of silence, Shadow moaned and began to stir. And when he opened his eyes, both Sonic and Lemon sighed with relief.  
  
"Shadow!"  
  
"You're okay!"  
  
Shadow himself, however, wasn't so happy. He stiffly sat up, feeling as if all of his energy had been sapped. But he soon forgot about that when his eyes fell on the woman before him. And he was stunned into silence as all he could do was stare. Lemon could see it in his eyes. And then she recognized who that girl was. She remembered when Shadow had spoken of her, and she then realized how devastating this was.  
  
"Maria... My best friend."  
  
Author's Note...again: I had a lot of trouble with this chapter. Mostly because I feel like crying into a pillow right now. I just killed off MARIA!!!! ... Ah well, anyway, one more chapter, and then we're done Part 2. Part 3 isn't as depressing as the first two parts, rest assured! And I think Part 3 is gonna be the ending. Wow... the ending. I'm actually gonna finish this thing. Anyhow, I'm super tired, I'm going away (as mentioned before) so the next chapter will be up again in two weeks, when I return. And it'll be much better, because this chapter was kinda hurried. (I wanted to finish before I left, or else I'd have one MORE thing to finish while away!) So, this is ZF-V, off on vacation! :D 


	26. Chapter Twenty Five Away From Here

**Disclaimer: Sonic The Hedgehog and all related characters are copyright to SEGA. Athair the Echidna was originally copyright to Sonic Archie Comics and Sonic Underground. I changed him a lot, but they still get credit. Lemon the Echidna, Tenchi the Hedgehog and all related characters that don't belong to SEGA belong to me, Zeldafreak-Vikki and my friend, Alyssa the Bat!  
  
Author's Note: Holy God, I took a long time to update this! Why? Um... Final Exams, I went to another country, working on website... Stuff. But now I'm free and I can write again. PH33R!  
  
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE – AWAY FROM HERE**  
  
Lemon winced as Rouge finished bandaging her hand.  
  
"Augh, does it have to be so TIGHT?!"  
  
"If you want your fingers to heal properly, yes," replied Rouge. "And you should be thankful you're still in one piece after all that!"  
  
Lemon fell silent after that. It had been two days since Takara's rising and nobody had slept. Sonic and Arashi had somehow found the strength to seal Jigoku away, back where he belonged, but now all five of them were completely exhausted. The only one of them who had actually slept was Shadow – but that's because he had passed out after seeing Maria. And Lemon was worried sick about him. He was looking rather pale, which strongly reminded her of Tenchi. As soon as Rouge had left to check on the others, the young echidna slowly rose from her seat and wandered over to Shadow. For quite a few minutes, she simply stood there, watching him sleep. She let a small smile play on her lips. It was so hard to figure out what he was thinking sometimes. She had been so mean to him before... and even though he had kissed her once, had he really meant it? She felt so confused about it...  
  
"You can sit down if you want..."  
  
Lemon gasped as she realized Shadow was awake. "Oh my gosh! Did I wake you up?!"  
  
Shadow grinned as he slowly sat up, his face as white as paper. "Nah, I've been awake for hours..." He looked over to her and frowned as he saw her staring. "What?"  
  
Lemon touched his cheek lightly, feeling how freezing it was. "Shadow, you look so sick! How can you even move?!"  
  
Shadow blushed at her touch and moved away a little. "Uh! I'm fine! was just... really rough..."  
  
"Yeah, I'll bet," said Lemon, sitting down beside him. "I'm sorry, Shadow. You must feel really bad."  
  
Shadow sighed as he leaned back against the wall. "I guess so. But at the same time, I can't help but feel glad that Maria could finally rest in peace. Takara was controlling her the entire time," He stopped, overwhelmed. "And... Now I know what I have to do."  
  
Lemon blinked as he looked down, as if every stitch in the blanket covering him were a fascinating portrait. "What are you gonna do?" she asked.  
  
"I'm going to fulfill Maria's new wish," he replied. "I'm going to go live my own life, somewhere away from here."  
  
Lemon smiled. That would be nice to get away. "Wow, where will you go?" she asked dreamily.  
  
"I dunno," he shrugged. "Depends... Where would you want to go?"  
  
"Huh? Me?!" Lemon thought and asked herself. Just where would she go?! Did it even matter where?!  
  
"A-Anywhere!" she blurted, not sure what else to say. "As long as Pop and Knuckles aren't around to bother me! But... I doubt that would ever happen."  
  
Shadow blushed as he looked away. "You could come with me, if you want."  
  
Lemon's heart skipped a beat. Was he serious?!  
  
"Really?!"  
  
Shadow looked to her, looking nervous. "Well, you don't have to..."  
  
"YES!!!"  
  
They looked each other in the eyes, then smiled as they finally knew what the other was thinking. They both wanted the same thing. And now they had it.  
  
"BOY!!!"  
  
Knuckles groaned and stuffed his pillow over his head as his grandfather smashed the door open, making it leave a dent in the wall. He marched right up to his lazy grandson and yelled at the top of his voice.  
  
"KNUCKLES!!! WHERE IS YOUR SISTER?!"  
  
Knuckles didn't move a muscle. "Ain't she still asleep? It's early, Pop!"  
  
"NO!!! HER BED IS EMPTY AND HER THINGS ARE GONE!!!"  
  
Knuckles sat up, his pillow falling off his face. Had he just heard right?  
  
"You're kidding me," he said, his monotonous voice not making things any better. Athair grabbed Knuckles by the neck and began shaking him, knowing the young echidna was barely awake.  
  
"BOY!!! YOUR SISTER IS GONE!!! WHERE DID SHE GO?! TELL ME NOW!!"  
  
"Okay, okay!" yelled Knuckles, struggling to get away. He took a deep breath, feeling like he was going to die. "Jeez, I'm sure it's nothing serious..."  
  
A few minutes later, he was standing in Lemon's room, in pure shock.  
  
"...It's serious..."  
  
"What do you mean by that?!" yelled Athair, worry driving him mad. Knuckles grinned coolly.  
  
"Well, Pop, I do believe our Lemon has eloped," he said simply.  
  
"Wh-What does this word mean?" asked Athair, not fully understanding.  
  
Knuckles chuckled as he answered. "Well! I think she ran off with Shadow!"  
  
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!!!" exploded Athair, his eyes glowing red. "Why are you so HAPPY about this?!"  
  
"No clue," replied Knuckles. "I was kinda expecting this, actually..."  
  
Athair growled, clenching his fists as Knuckles walked away.  
  
"THAT – HEDGEHOG – WILL – DIE!!!"  
  
Sonic yawned as Tails scrambled around, trying to gather up all of his things. But his whole body was shaking from nervousness and he kept dropping everything.  
  
"Ack! Oh, Sonic! I'm screwed! I'm gonna totally mess up and she's gonna hate me!" stressed Tails, pulling on his ears.  
  
Sonic laughed as he stiffly stood up to help his friend. "Oh, c'mon, little buddy, it'll be fine. I'm sure by the end of today, Vixy'll be head over heels for ya!"  
  
"You really think I've gotta chance with her?" asked Tails hopefully.  
  
"Definitely! She agreed to go out with you, didn't she?!"  
  
"You're right!" declared Tails, gaining back some of his confidence. "I'm gonna go make her love me!"  
  
Sonic laughed as he sorely sat back down in a chair. "Heh, right. Don't tell her that though."  
  
Tails chuckled nervously, blushing with embarrassment. "Well, I better get going. You sure you'll be okay alone, Sonic?"  
  
"Yeah, yeah," replied Sonic, waving his hand. "Get outta here."  
  
Tails grinned and dashed out the door. Sonic's ears perked as he heard a deeper voice than Tails' yell with surprise. Then his whole body jerked with surprise as Shadow walked in. How had he appeared so suddenly?!  
  
"Sonic," said Shadow, sounding slightly urged, yet at the same time, very relaxed. "I don't have very much time... I've come to say goodbye."  
  
"Wha-?" Sonic blinked. Maybe he WAS still delirious. "Where are you going?"  
  
Shadow shrugged, as if that didn't matter. "We'll figure it out."  
  
"We?" repeated Sonic. Then he was silenced as Lemon walked in, as if appearing from behind Shadow.  
  
"Lemon?! What're you two doing?!"  
  
Lemon shrugged. "What does it look like? We're leaving."  
  
Sonic raised an eye ridge, feeling a grin coming on.  
  
"Ohhh, you're eloping, aren't you?!"  
  
Lemon's eyes widened as her whole face went as red as her brother. Shadow, however, looked quite confused.  
  
"What does that me-?"  
  
"Never mind, Shadow! You don't need to know!" exclaimed Lemon, holding onto his arm, looking nervous. "Sonic's just being silly!"  
  
"Okay..." Shadow decided not to ask questions. "I suppose we should be going before Athair discovers you're gone."  
  
Lemon nodded and they turned to leave when Sonic suddenly called to them.  
  
"Whoa, whoa, waitaminit!" he said, stiffly getting up. "Yeesh, I almost forgot!" He reached up a high shelf and pulled down what looked like a can. Shadow blinked and stared at it as Sonic walked up to him.  
  
"Matt and dad cremated Maria while you were out of it. I figured you'd want this..."  
  
Shadow took a shaky breath. Inside, his heart still ached from knowing Maria was dead. But he was relieved he could keep her with him. He took the can and smiled. "Thanks."  
  
And with that, Sonic watched his friends leave out the door, not knowing he wouldn't see them for a very long time.  
  
**Author's Note: OHHHH!!! PART 2'S FINALLY DONE!!! MWAHAHAHA!!! I'm already working on the 3rd part, I REALLY hope you don't think this is too long, I never thought I'd make it this far. And if I'm right, am I seriously close to 200 reviews? I thought FF.Net had an error or something... but thanks for all your reviews and I hope you enjoy!**


	27. Chapter Twenty Six Surprise, Surprise

**Disclaimer: Sonic The Hedgehog and all related characters are copyright to SEGA.**

**Athair the Echidna was originally copyright to Sonic Archie Comics and Sonic Underground. I changed him a lot, but they still get credit. **

**Knives, Aleena, etc, Lemon the Echidna, Tenchi the Hedgehog and all related characters that don't belong to SEGA belong to me, Zeldafreak-Vikki and my friend, Alyssa the Bat!**

**Author's Note: Two parts done with 204 reviews. I never dreamed this was even possible with my first fic. (I figured it would be flamed in its first week!) Thank-you all SO MUCH for all of your feedback, this is all helping me to become a better writer. (or so I hope) Anywho, be prepared to meet some NEW characters!!! In CHAPTER 26!!! (all the new characters is kinda the reason this is so late, that, and I've been insane with my comic and art, har)**

**PART THREE**

**CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX – SURPRISE, SURPRISE**

**FIVE YEARS LATER...**

"WAAAAHHHHHH!!!!"

"Mom!! Mom!! Radar got stuck in the tree again!"

"YOU'RE THE ONE WHO PUT ME UP HERE!!! AAAHHHHHH!!!"

Amy slapped her forehead as she sat there with Rouge. They were in the central park of Station Square, having a picnic in celebration of the first day of spring. The pink cherry blossoms were in full bloom and there were many families out viewing the beautiful trees. But when Amy looked up in the tree nearest to her, she could see an orange figure hanging onto one of the branches. Rouge stood up, hands on her hips. Unlike Amy, Rouge hadn't changed that much, except she wore more casual clothes these days.

"Radar!! What are you doing up there?!"

The little bat looked to her, his lip trembling. "It's Knives' fault! He's the one who put me up here!!" He pointed to the little red hedgehog who was standing at the base of the tree, giggling. Rouge glared to Amy, who grinned apologetically. Knives, her son, had a knack for mischief. Just like his father.

"FEAR NOT, RADAR, I'LL SAVE YOU!!!"

Everybody stared as Knuckles the echidna burst out from a nearby tree, startling a group of humans. He came speeding through the air, his hands out in front of him, letting out a great battle cry, and went smashing into the tree his son was stuck in. Radar screamed and held on for dear life as Knuckles landed, cackling.

"Don't worry, Radar, you're fine!!"

Radar seemed to have turned white with fear, as he did not reply. Knuckles picked up the terrified four year-old and jumped to the ground, putting him down. The little bat simply flopped over, scared out of his mind. Rouge smacked Knuckles over the head and began yelling at him.

"What is the MATTER with you?!"

Amy chuckled. Ever since the Ultimate Life-Form had been dealt with, peace seemed to have finally found them. Dr. Eggman was nowhere to be found and wasn't seen as a threat any longer. Arashi had made sure Jigoku was kept safely locked away. And now that Shuri was around, Yami wouldn't cause anymore trouble. And so they had all settled down. And Amy couldn't be happier. Her and Sonic were married a few months after Shadow and Lemon's disappearance and now, five years later, they had two children. She looked over to where Arashi was sitting, holding her youngest child, Aleena, who was only a few months old.

"Everything ok, dad?" she asked. Arashi looked up, smiling a little. He still had trouble dealing with happy emotions, but he had at least learned to smile a little. "Mm-hm!" he replied, keeping his voice down. "She's sleeping..."

Amy grinned and stood up. "Well! Everything seems fine here then! Wanna go for a walk, Rouge?" Rouge glanced back, then shrugged as a yes. Anything to find some peace and quiet.

"Don't leave poor Arashi alone with all the kids, okay, Knuckles?" said Rouge, giving Knuckles a stern look. Knuckles gave her a big smile. "Awww, Rouge, I won't go anywhere!!"

"Suuuure, you won't..." mumbled the bat in reply.

Amy looked up to the top branch of the tree she was standing under. "Keep an eye on 'em, Sonic!!"

Sonic the Hedgehog looked down at her as he lounged around a tree branch, soaking up the warmth of the sun.

"Yeah, no prob, Ames. Have a nice walk."

Amy smiled and her and Rouge made their way through the park and were soon out of the sight. The two boys continued to play around (once Radar was out of shock, anyway) and Sonic just lazed around, keeping an eye on them. Knuckles walked over to the tree.

"Hey, Sonic!!! Come down here for a second!!"

"What is it, Knuckles?"

"Guh!!" Knuckles turned around, seeing Sonic had zoomed down from the tree and landed behind him before he could blink. Sure, the hedgehog had settled down and had a family, but he was even faster than he used to be now. Knuckles coughed.

"Uh... You heard from...Shadow at all?"

Sonic raised an eye ridge. "No, nobody has. No word from Lemon either, hey?"

Knuckles nodded. "Nothing at all. I'm scared for her, man... What if they separated and she's all alone?!"

Sonic shrugged. "Lemon'll be okay... it's Shad I worry about."

Knuckles opened his mouth, about to start one of their daily arguments about Shadow, when another voice called out, cutting him off.

"DADDY!!! MOMMY!! WHERE ARE YOU!!!"

Sonic looked behind him to the tree where Arashi was sitting and the three adults saw a small child come out from around the base of the trunk. And her appearance alone was enough to make Knuckles gasp with shock.

It was a little girl echidna. Judging by her height, she must've been around four or five years-old. Her fur was yellow and her short, golden quills fell down around her face. Knuckles blinked and stared at her. Her quills were awfully short for an echidna her age. And that wasn't the only strange thing about her: black streaks seemed to run through all of her quills, as well as her arms. Sonic approached the girl slowly, seeing that her big red eyes were glistening with tears.

"Hey, there..." he said, as gently as he could. "Are you lost?"

The little girl stared up at him, as if she was about to scream at the top of her lungs. Knuckles walked up beside Sonic and the girl's eyes became wider.

"Hey!!" She raised her little hand and pointed right at Knuckles. "I know you!! You're Knuckles, right?"

Knuckles blinked as Sonic began to chuckle. This seemed quite funny to him.

"Uh... yeah, that's me..." He blinked, confused. "How do you know me?"

The girl smiled, laughing. "Mommy talks about you alllllll the tiiime!!"

Knuckles scowled, his face turning a bit red as Sonic burst out laughing, clutching his stomach. The angry echidna raised his already clenched fist and brought it down HARD on Sonic's head. "IT'S-NOT-FUNNY-SONIC!!!"

"Sonic?" piped up the little girl, staring in wonder. "Ohhhh, I know about you!! My daddy says he's faster 'n you!!"

Sonic felt his eye twitch as Knuckles began to laugh. The blue hedgehog clenched his teeth. NOBODY was faster than him. NOBODY. "Haha. Sure, kid." He glared over to Knuckles. "Oh, shut it, already!!"

The girl blinked as she watched the two begin to argue before her. She felt her face burn as her patience grew quite short...

"STOP IT!!!" she screamed, making nearby strangers look up. The two guys looked down at her, their eyes wide. Arashi simply chuckled and went back to watching the children. The little girl sniffled, tears beginning to fall down her red cheeks again.

"I just wanna find my mommy!!"

Sonic kneeled down before the child and gently wiped the tears away. "Aw, don't cry, kid, we'll find your mom... what's your name?"

The little girl sobbed before replying. "S-Sakura."

Sonic grinned. "Alrighty then!! Let's go find your parents, Sakura!"

Lemon the echidna clenched her teeth as she ran through the park, starting to panic. Where WAS she?!

"Sakura!!! SAKURAA!!!!"

She looked up ahead and suddenly stopped, recognizing Rouge the Bat and Amy Rose walking down the sidewalk, talking to each other. She called out their names as she sprinted over to them, desperate.

"Rouge!! Amy!!"

"Hm?" Rouge looked up, surprised. "Oh my God!! Lemon?! Is that really you?!"

Lemon came to a screeching halt before them, panting slightly. "Rouge! You've gotta help me!! I've lost my daughter!!!"

"DAUGHTER?!"

"Ugh, I'll explain AFTER we find her, okay?! I lost her in a crowd!!"

"R-Right! Let's go, Amy!"

"Right!"

One hour passed. One long, painful hour. Sonic and Knuckles walked through the ENTIRE park with Sakura, Sonic holding her hand as Knuckles brought up the rear of their small party, looking around. But nobody recognized the little girl, and she only knew her mother as "Mommy", it seemed. Same deal with her father. Sonic decided to try asking more questions about them, now that she had stopped crying. She actually seemed to be enjoying this search.

"So, I'm guessing your parents are echidnas?" he said, his voice quite low from boredom.

Sakura shook her head. "Nuh-uh! Only my mommy is!!"

"Huh?" Sonic stopped walking, staring down at the girl. Couldn't be... "Oh...well, she must have black fur then..."

The young girl shook her head again. "She's yellow like me, silly!"

Knuckles' eyes widened as he caught on to what Sakura was saying...

"Your mother must have red eyes then...?" said Sonic weakly.

Another shake of her head. "Nooo, daddy has red eyes though!!!"

Knuckles felt his body go rigid. "NO!!! JUST- NO!!"

Both Sonic and Sakura looked back at him. "Knuckles, shut up! We're in public, moron!!"

But the echidna's anger had risen too much to be subdued anytime soon. "THIS IS LEMON'S KID, ISN'T IT?! SHE ALWAYS LIKED THE NAME SAKURA AND THIS KID LOOKS JUST LIKE HER!!!!"

Sonic laughed nervously. "Nuh-Now, now, Knuckles, no need to flip ou-"

"I HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO FLIP OUT!!! MY SISTER RUNS OFF WITH SOME DUMB HEDGEHOG AND NOW I SEE THEY'VE GOTTA KID?!"

Sonic gulped. Knuckles was pretty scary right now... "C'mon, Knux, we don't know that's really Lemon's daughter!! Or Shadow's!"

Knuckles yelled, making Sakura run and hide behind Sonic's legs. "IT'S OBVIOUS, SONIC, DON'T YOU DARE DENY IT, YOU BAST-"

"Sakura!!"

Knuckles looked to Sonic and saw a very peculiar look on his face. He couldn't quite decide if he looked shocked or just plain scared. He blinked, then felt a shiver run down his spine. He whirled around and ended up yelling and stepping back in surprise.

A black hedgehog stood there firmly, his clenched fists down by his sides, one of which was heavily bandaged, as was the rest of that arm. His red eyes gleamed with worry and what seemed like a small amount of anger. It was Shadow... but he was so different now...

"Daddy!!!" exclaimed Sakura, running to Shadow and crying at the same time. Shadow kneeled down and hugged her close as she threw herself against him, sobbing. He wrapped his scarred arms around her, breathing a sigh of relief. Then he grasped her lightly by the shoulders and faced her sternly.

"Sakura, where did you go? You scared your mother half to death." He didn't seem very angry, but Sakura still looked scared.

"I-I lost her in that big group of people... I'm sorry, Daddy..." There was a small silence, then she gasped as she looked to Shadow's bandaged arm. "Omigosh, daddy!! Did you hurt yourself AGAIN?!"

Shadow went a little red as he stood up, holding his arm. "Uh, it's nothing... I just fell..." He coughed, then looked over. "Oh, there's your mom. Better go let her know I found you."

"Mommy!!!" And off she went.

Shadow looked up to see Sonic and Knuckles staring at him. The black hedgehog scowled back at them. He had been hoping to not see them just yet.

"Sh-Shadow...?" stuttered Knuckles, speechless. Sonic, however, stepped forward, looking at his friend.

"Wow, what'd you do...?" He pointed to Shadow's face, where a scar ran down his left eye. Shadow narrowed his eyes in annoyance and covered his eye with his hand, obviously uncomfortable. "None of your business." Sonic was about to protest when Shadow was suddenly assaulted from behind. He clenched his teeth as somebody grabbed him by the throat and began choking his roughly. He grunted and quickly grabbed the person's arms, heaving them down so that the person was flipped over him and landed in between him and Sonic.

Sonic blinked. "Hm, see you still have them reflexes..." He looked down to see who had been foolish enough to try and attack Shadow and his eyes widened. "Oh crap..."

Shadow wished right there and then he could disappear off the face of the Earth.

"Uh... H-Hi, Athair! Long time n-no see, huh?!"

"_**...HEDGE-HOOOOOG!!!!**_"

**Author's Note: I'M STILL ALIVE! Yes, this chapter sucked. More will be explained in the next one, I swear it. I'm sorry this took me so long to update, I had to learn HTML, construct a new site on Fireball20XL, plus I've started two comic series (one of which includes my widdle Tenchi!) and I'm moving again in a week. JOY. The next chapter will be easier to update, this chap gave me some trouble because I wasn't too sure how to introduce my new characters... You'll learn more about them as time goes on, and I'm planning to draw up some profiles for all the characters here, because I'm getting questions on what some of them look like so... yeah... Har. See ya next time!**


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